The Met Gala 2018

This week has seen the long awaited return of the Costume Institute Gala in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The event, held annually since 1948, is the one night of the year where artists, models and Hollywood stars gather to unveil the museums latest exhibition, in collaboration with the theme of the evening. Previous themes have included Manus x Machina, and China: Through the Looking Glass. This years theme? Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.

This years theme came under controversy, with many stating that the Catholic faith was not a fashion statement. However, many referenced last years theme, “China: Through the Looking Glass”, saying that a culture or group of people can be taken as an inspiration, without being appropriated.

The best dressed of the evening, including Rhianna and Zendaya, took their inspiration from Catholic artifacts and images. Rihanna dressed as “the female pope the Vatican’s never had”, wearing Margiela. Zendaya wore Versace, and chose to model herself as Saint Joan of Arc.

 

Ariana Grande also dressed to impress, with her Vera Wang gown featuring images of Michelangelo’s ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

 

Lana Del Rey modelled herself after the famous statue of the Crying Mother of Jesus, with seven swords quite literally stabbing her in the heart. Jared Leto also stayed true to the over the top theme, showing up alongside Lana as Jesus Christ himself.

 

Not unlike the Gala to get political, Lena Waithe showed up in a Carolina Herrera cape with the gay pride flag printed on, taking a stance against the treatment of the LGBTQ+ community in the Catholic faith.

 

View below for more of the best dressed of the evening.

 

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Insta-perfect

Is social media making us botch our bodies? 

For anyone with social media, not a day goes by where we aren’t bombarded with perfectly airbrushed, flawless looking models. The days of cosmetic procedures being kept secret are long gone, and reality stars document every nip and tuck with Snapchat and Instagram stories. In the past three years, cosmetic procedures such as lip fillers and botox have increased by almost 70%, and with reality stars promoting deals and discounts for procedures, social media is no coincidence.

In 2017, Kylie Jenner admitted to having lip fillers after years of denying the procedure. Since then, this has become the most popular cosmetic procedure in clinics all across the world, with many young girls taking images of Kylie as inspiration.

In 2015, Celebrity Big Brother contestant Alicia Douvall spoke on TV show This Morning about her plastic surgery regrets. The reality star had her first cosmetic procedure at just 17 years old, and explained that she feels young girls and boys should be given more support before being allowed to go under the knife.

Ashley Steel, a nurse with La Belle Forme clinic in Glasgow has experienced clients trying to achieve the Kylie pout far too quickly. Speaking to the Daily Mail, Ashley said “I often have to talk women down from wanting their lips to be as big as possible, and encourage them to take it slow and work up to the perfect pout.”

kylie before fillers

kylie’s new pout

Reality star Chloe Ferry recently received backlash after revealing she has spend over £50,000 on cosmetic procedures in three years and is already planning more. One Instagram comment said “You look like a clown! So much prettier before.” while another claimed “What a horrible influence on young girls, thinking this is what they should strive towards.” Chloe remains confident about her procedures, recently revealing on Snapchat that she has undergone a second nose job and third boob job.

 

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons reported that between 2000 and 2016, non-surgical cosmetic procedures (such as lip fillers and botox) had risen by 132%. Buttock augmentation has also risen in the UK by 60%, hugely influenced by the famous figures of the Kardashians. The selfie craze is inescapable, and girls are constantly comparing themselves to the filtered and photoshopped celebs on the screen.

By Gabby Mckeown

Makeup to School: Harmful or Harmless?

Can cosmetics really make children happy?

Should children be allowed to wear makeup to school? Some parents agree that makeup should be barred, some disagree, some teachers agree, some disagree. The discussions go around in circles. It leaves the recurring question, what really is the problem with teenagers wearing makeup to school?

One main outstanding argument often brought up by school boards is that everyone should look equal. However, this basis fails to have any relevant implications regarding makeup. Makeup is cheap and affordable to any teen wishing to buy it and could be compared to judging people on how they like to wear their own hair. Makeup is not in the same league as privileged children wearing expensive clothes or shoes to school or a basis on which teens are regularly; bullied on. Therefore, I fail to see how a teenager’s personal choice could offend other classmates personally, as is argued when it is related to the uniform rule.

The school uniform rule hugely deals with keeping pupils looking equal. Even from far away, people see children’s uniforms not the makeup on their faces. So, the argument that makeup could somehow make some pupils act in a superior manner to others fails to include any evidence.

Understandably, if makeup was affecting pupils’ performance in class it would be a useful school rule to implement. But in my experience as a high school student, girls did not apply makeup during lessons. If this was a problem for some schools, perhaps they could compromise with pupils and they could allow them to wear it to school but not apply it in school so as not to distract them. Another possible issue with makeup would be it making pupils late for school in the morning. This would have a direct effect on some pupils learning if they were missing class to put their face on. However, on the flip side, several non-makeup wearers are late daily so would stopping teenagers wearing stop late coming issues? It’s doubtful.

Abigail Proverbs, 17, wears makeup to school everyday.

She said: “Sometimes it does (make me late), if I have a breakout, because it takes me ages to cover it. Or if it’s Friday and we’re going out straight after school I have to do my eyeshadow and fake lashes to last me all night.”

Despite head teachers and parents broadcasting the negatives of wearing makeup to school, some think that the practice it is not credited enough. For teenagers struggling with self-esteem issues, makeup really can greatly improve their confidence and therefore enjoyment of their experience at school.

Proverbs said: “I feel like it gives me more confidence because I feel ugly without it and I’m scared people will stare at my spots if I don’t wear it. All of my friends wear it as well so they would say I was weird if I didn’t.”

Many teens say they were bullied for acne or facial insecurities so use this to excuse them wearing it. However, surely this should not be the sole argument they debate their freedom to wear makeup on, as bullying can take any form so should be addressed by authoritative figures in the school to single out bullies. Christine Cunniffee, Head Teacher, said: “If there’s an issue with bullying, that has to be addressed separately.” Covering acne or colouring in their lips or whatever current trend is going around, truly does make teenagers happy. If we can allow this when it doesn’t affect their learning, then why deprive a pupil of a self-confidence boost?

Proverbs said: “Some of the girls that don’t wear makeup get embarrassed when the boys say things to them about their skin and some girls who wear fake tan and lots of makeup get called orange and people say they look like clowns.”
Another debated issue is age. Makeup does not have age guidelines. Common sense really comes into play here. Of course cosmetics should not be used on a child’s sensitive skin, but when children transform into teenagers, their whole body is changing so why not let them experiment with their own face?

Proverbs said: “Ever since I started wearing it like a year ago I can’t stop, and I think I’ll be wearing it forever.”

Many teachers telling pupils not to wear makeup are wearing it themselves in the professional school environment, which demonstrates hypocrisy and a weakly structured argument to its full extent. If adult insist on not allowing children freedom to their face, compromise should at least be made, and ‘natural’ makeup allowed. Cunnifee said: “You can wear a light covering as long as it’s very natural.”

Of course, no one wants to see schools suffer due to makeup. But cosmetics truly do not have the power to damage reputation. In photographs and websites and even children commuting to school, makeup can hardly be seen in comparison to a full body covered in matching uniform which showcases the school well.

Jenna Ward, Mum, said: “It’s about making her feel good about herself, being body positive.”

The best resolution to all of this perhaps could be to let parents decide. This banishes the issue of drawing creating guidelines and rules regarding ‘natural’ makeup. It also would give teenagers the chance to express themselves and fight their corner to the people who know them best, their parents. At the end of the day, whether wearing makeup or not, they will be free to do as they wish in the years following high school. Would it be so bad to allow them this little bit of freedom on their own face a few years early?

 

 

By Roslyn McBride

Fashion: The Revolution in Diversity

The state of diversity in the fashion modelling world has changed in recent times.

2017 was the year that brought around a revolution in how we view fashion. Janaye Furman, a black model, opened the Louis Vuitton show for the first time. Halima Aden, a Hijab model, broke through on the runways and Ashley Graham graced the cover of the Sports Illustrated, also making it onto Forbes’s list of the world’s highest-paid models.

The Vogue print from Gianni Versace's SS '91 collection is a bold composition featuring the Vogue logo in a playful design that incorporates bright primary colors. Shop the #VersaceTribute Vogue print: https://t.co/JERifNScPN pic.twitter.com/wQNyGkyOcJ

— VERSACE (@Versace) March 25, 2018

Changes are also happening behind the pages of Vogue magazine with the announcement of its new editor Edward Enninful, making him the first black editor for the magazine. The December 17′ issue illustrated their support for diversity by having Adwoa Aboah appearing on the front cover. Major luxury fashion house Versace also joined the change by having middle aged models front and centre on their runways. Vogue Paris starred Valentina Sampaio, a trans model on their March cover.

New York Fashion Week in September became the most diversified NYFW ever with at least two models of colour appearing in every show in the city. The super star turned fashion designer, Rihanna, also shed light on the issue by casting an ethnically diverse range of models to present her Fenty x Puma display at the Park Avenue Armor. Including Slick Woods, who has been on every Fenty catwalk and is the face of Fenty Beauty.

https://instagram.com/p/BhW3yOWnjrq/

The beauty range boasts 40 shades of foundation, which has been met with outstanding reviews from make-up bloggers with different skin types making Fenty beauty one of the most inclusive beauty ranges ever. The darker shades were sold out within days, this is a sign of Rihanna’s power in the business and the appetite for diversity in beauty and fashion that she has recognised and tapped into. This is a step in the right direction and hopefully other fashion brands will follow in her stylish footsteps.

Diversity isn’t a problem that can be solved quickly.  It’s a matter of race, of size, shape, age, gender and different abilities, among other identifiers. There is abundance of characteristics that contribute to the topic of diversity, and it is crucial not to lose sight of its true meaning.

The frightening amount of mistakes that the fashion industry can make with diversity must in no way distract from the importance of learning from them.
The truth is that diverse representation generates more space for everyone to see themselves being recognised in the world of fashion, this can only be a positive thing. There have been many encouraging advances, but the key thing is providing a platform for those who previously haven’t had the opportunity.

Jessie Colligan.

The Curves are Re-shaping Fashion: But is it at a Risk?

The rise of plus size fashion models has reinvented the fashion industry.

Barriers have been broken in the world of fashion. Woman have been shown they can feel fabulous no matter what size they are, which is a step in the right direction in the fashion industry in being able to cater  for everyone.

The introduction of curve and plus size campaigns from well-known and popular brands such as M&S, Boohoo and Miss guided to name a few, has raised awareness of the issue of body image. However, some have raised concerns that such plus size campaigns promote an unhealthy lifestyle.

This time next week 😝 @boohoo pic.twitter.com/C5LFDp8afL

— Gemma Collins (@missgemcollins) April 8, 2018

The newest campaign that has grabbed attention was created by Boohoo and shows popular reality television star Gemma Collins sporting the clothes. Her curve campaign, has been said to be filling a gap in the market by sizes in the collection ranging from 16 to 24.

This partnership with Boohoo has given a boost to girls and woman alike as they see her as a role model for body image as she’s always been vocal in the media. She’s proud of her curves and wants to look and feel glamourous no matter what size she is.

The company’s motto is : “we pride ourselves on our inclusive brands and their ability to celebrate and promote diversity. Our customers continue to inspire us and motivate us. We continue to develop our ranges to offer clothing to suit every shape and size and we work very closely with several model agencies in order to promote responsible and healthy body images.” This highlights how popular clothing websites are showing support and catering for plus size models and woman in general.

 

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Another positive of the plus size movement is the efforts from M&S, which at present are the leading retailer in the UK plus-size market. With womenswear available up to size 28, has produced a separate plus-size collection. This is a reflection of how plus-size women are challenging the industry.

 
The attention being showered on the plus-sized customer is driven by a clear business opening. While the typical British woman is a size 16, only 20% of money spent on womenswear is spent on plus-size fashion. The fashion and retail business is depending on the idea that plus-size women will spend more money on clothes if the proposal becomes more attractive.

 

Such a dream come true & I can’t wait for you to take this journey with me. Watch The Ashley Graham Project on go90!https://t.co/tH2TIXvYwC pic.twitter.com/m53JBT4gm4

— Ashley Graham (@theashleygraham) July 26, 2017

 

Ashley Graham, who newly became the first plus-sized name to feature on Forbes’ list of highest-paid models, has progressed into an activist for body positivity. She has openly called out Victoria’s Secret for not including any bigger models on their catwalk, and applauded Italian Vogue for not retouching photos of her.

The coming of Curve at Britain’s most seminal high-street giant is an indication of how this self-confidence has trickled down to a high-street. A customer is no longer willing to ransack through the back of the rack for an outdated version of clothes that the design studio imagined in a size 10.

However, some have seen the negative effects of the plus size industry. Culturally there used to be a have unhealthy fascination with skinniness now the tables have turned and now there’s a sudden widespread glorification of obesity.

An example of this is the demise of the diet and crash dieting. For years, calculating calories has been an essential portion of the western woman’s daily life. Recently, it has become old-fashioned to confess to trying slim down a dress size and the new “clean eating” is the alternative way to a healthy lifestyle.

Once you look past the element that stigmas have been broken down by the plus size industry and have began to democratise fashion, there is an argument how this inclusivity and body positivity can be dangerous and promote an unhealthy lifestyle and obesity.

 
The Australia’s Daily Telegraph’s article on the issue said : “Sports Illustrated’s move to parade ‘curvier’ women on the runway is irresponsible”. As telling women that you can parade around in a swimsuit at any size could essentially be a slippery slope to an obesity-triggered death.

 

 

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FES👙 #ashleygrahamXswimsuitsforall – check the stories for more babes

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Many doctors have showed support of the argument, Dr Brad Frankum, the president of the Australian Medical Association communicated to the BBC that “if we send very overweight or obese people down the catwalk modelling clothes, what it is saying, in a way, is that we are celebrating obesity. I think that is dangerous because we know it is a dangerous health condition.”

 
The risks of obesity are a likely counterargument that society goes far more towards fat-shaming than the celebration of obesity. A 2016 study for Lighter Life showed that approximately 40% of obese adults in the UK have been teased by strangers, for example. The dispute is also often made that stigmatizing obesity can have an immensely harmful effect on people’s physical and mental health.

 
The study showed that persons who think they are overweight are more likely to stress-eat in retort and become even more overweight. It was also exposed that fat-shaming by doctors is widespread and damages the physical and mental health of overweight people.

Jessie Colligan

Sweatshops: Exposing the Secrets between the Stitches

Trapped in an awful cycle of exploitation

The US Department of Labour describes a sweatshop as a factory that violates two or more labour laws, concerning things such as wages and benefits, child labour or working hours. A sweatshop can be described as a workplace where workers are subject to extreme exploitation, including the absence of a living wage or benefits, poor working conditions,  verbal and physical abuse. Because sweatshop workers are paid less than their daily expenses, they are never able to save any money to improve their lives. They are trapped in an awful cycle of exploitation.

Those who defend sweatshops often bring up the fact that even though sweatshops are unethical they at least give people jobs they wouldn’t have had otherwise. Fashion brands don’t see sweatshops as a problem; they’re an integral part of their business strategy. Every step forward that’s been made for workers’ rights has been made by workers themselves.

Campaigns have been created to support workers and their rights. War on Want is an organisation that provides direct support and funding to women’s worker collectives and unions mobilising in communities and factory floors across Asia. They also support partners like SACOM (Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour) in Hong Kong to conduct undercover investigations into sweatshop conditions and expose them to the public.

War on Want, Press Officer , Marienna Pope-Weidermann, Said: “Fashion companies will use sweatshops for as long as they can get away with it simply because it’s cheaper. Corporations compete with each other to cut costs and it’s the workers who lose out.”

Some efforts have been made by government to make the production of goods more ethical. The Ethical Trading Initiative was created by the UK government in 1998 to improve the lives of hapless sweatshop workers and their families. The group is sponsored by the Department for International Development and is made up of 39 of the UK’s major selling companies (including Gap, Marks and Spencer and Tesco) and 16 campaign groups and Trades Unions.

The vital part to the ETI’s effort is its Base Code, which is a list of nine ethical trading values which contain the outlawing of child labour, the payment of a living wage and the right of workers to join free trade unions.By uniting with the ETI businesses agree that they’ll take voluntary measures to guarantee that their contractors will meet each of these nine moral values, however significantly the ETI has no controls over investigations or prosecution.

Activists  also campaigned relentlessly to encourage the world’s top sportswear producers  to take responsibility  for the environments in which their goods are produced abroad. As soon as Nike, Adidas, Puma and the rest unwillingly came around to the idea, it was welcomed as a turning-point in the association of such corporations to their sub-contractors in developing countries.

It was hailed “the ethical revolution sweeping through the world’s sweatshops”. It now appears that many spoke very prematurely. Through investigation it has been exposed that there are factories operating in unacceptable and inexcusable conditions, even those that are run by well known sports brands. None of the corporations have devoted to paying overseas workers a living wage. The majority of employees are not even paid the local minimum wage.

Marienna also added: “The voluntary system left corporations to assess themselves, even the agreements that got signed were worthless. That model has failed utterly to improve the situation facing workers in garment factories across the world. That’s why we campaign for a Binding Treaty on Business and Human Rights that turns empty promises into law.”

The idea of a binding treaty is to add teeth to international law to the UN guiding principles for business and human rights which would make it impossible for companies to avoid.

Some sweatshops  still continue to use prison and child labour. Women employed in others are subjected to obligatory pregnancy tests; if they are positive, they are immediately dismissed.  The  conditions for garment workers – overwhelmingly women of colour – are medieval. They endure excessive working hours, unpaid overtime, bullying and harassment,dangerous working environments where bullying and sexual harassment are rife, and are denied the right to form a union to support each other and fight for their rights.

Appalling truths were revealed by an investigation of the information submitted by the companies themselves – but as Puma light-heartedly confessed – the truth is unquestionably far poorer than reported due to the fact the sub-contractors lie about their employees’ working environment and about the quantity of overtime they work. To that extend that special software has been established to forge the archives of working hours.

The dissimilarity of these discoveries when compared to the codes of conduct the firms have supposedly have  in place is astounding. Adidas declares their “Vision is for everyone in our supply chain to share a common set of values. Nike’s code of conduct suggests that “high ethics means success”. The company’s moto is to encourage its workforces “to lead balanced personal and professional lives” and claims that “Nike will strive to pay fair compensation”.

In the context of the horrific shop floor truth, these fine words are shameful. Rather than trying to dazzle Western customers with worthless promises, these businesses should be obliged to avert some of their immense economic power into carrying out real developments and change to the gloom of the sweatshops. The manufacturing’s pledge to change remains vividly unfulfilled.

Jessie Colligan

Body Image: The Dark Mind-set of the Fashion Fantasy

Perfect physical appearances have continuously been a major element of the fashion and modelling industry.

Models on runways are inspirational to women, as are the individuals who appear in the glossy magazines many read and on the clothing sites most of this generation browse.
The clothes that are consumed are displayed on models and on mannequins before the ordinary person puts them on e.g. the ‘real’ person. Dating back to the 1920s the ideal body shape was refined and skinny, perfect for the drop waist trends. However, in the 40s, there was a shift and it was ideal to have curves to fill out full skirts and pin-up garments.

For decades, the fashion industry celebrated tall, overly-skinny girls and the casting of size zero models in the 1990s was shockingly wide-ranging. Those who weren’t suitable for this ideal saw it affects their self-esteem and perception of body image which grew amongst the generations.

 

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There is an estimated 1.6 million people in the UK are suffering / affected by an eating disorders. The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) stated, that the media and fashion industry’s effect on body image is one of the contributing features in the development of an eating disorders.  This leads to the question of how does media have such an impact?

The NEDA, Senior Program Associate, Chelsea Kronengold said: “The use of Photoshop and filters can create an unrealistic perception of beauty, which can result in low self-esteem and body image.

Some ways the media might trigger or prolong eating disorders/body dissatisfaction include the saturation of ultra-thin models and advertisements promoting dieting and weight loss products or services”

Counsellors can address issues related to the media influence in therapy meetings with clients. They teach clients about healthy body weight and aid clients to distinguish between good health and life-threatening thin-ness. They also help examine where their concepts about what they should weigh and look like stem from. Counselling helps people with eating disorders improve self-esteem, which should lead to improved body image.

 

Numerous countries such as France, Italy and Spain have announced laws built on BMI measurements to safeguard and guarantee models who are partaking in runway shows are sufficiently healthy to do so. High end powerhouses such as LVMH and Kering have put a ban on using underage and size zero models in their catwalk shows and ad campaigns.

The results are that in the future shows for luxury brands such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Dior models will have to meet the guidelines . Therefore, it appears the wider world may finally be putting its money where its mouth is and devoting more attention into creating a more diverse future. Many believe this is a step in the right direction, to decrease the number of people developing eating disorders.

Senior Program Associate,  for NEDA, Chelsea Kronengold added: “While there is no single cause of body dissatisfaction or disordered eating, numerous studies have found exposure to the thin ideal in mass media to be correlated with body dissatisfaction. The media often perpetuates dieting and a drive for thinness in women and young girls. ”

 

 

Those directly affected by modern fashion trends of size zero and underage models are the models themselves. The industry right now has been lured and shaped to respond to the present trends enforced by the very brands that are now denying them work. They are being punished for being too thin and too young which has been previously the main currency of the 21st-century fashion industry for a lengthy period.

Before the ban these models would have turned up to casting calls and been told they would benefit from dropping a few pounds or that their face is too round, or their hips too wide. To now ban them from an industry that has starved them into submission to gain work seems cruel and unfair.

Brands who force models to eat on set are being subjected to scrutiny, and Victoria’s Secret models voicing their truth about the realities of ‘skinny shaming’, it appears there is a fine line among sincere care and unjustified alarm and  is regularly being crossed as the discussion deepens.

 

So excited to announce my memoir about eating disorders & mental health is coming Feb 2018 @PenguinUKBooks 💕🙏🏼🌈✨💥😱 pic.twitter.com/HYJ6750emP

— Charli Howard (@TheCharliHoward) August 23, 2017

Social media is becoming a progressively easy tool to make a stance and speak out on matters. Numerous business insiders have used their online influence to provoke modification throughout all sides of fashion.

Charli Howard and Leomie Anderson are just a few of the models who have appeared on Twitter to be passionate about issues that matter such as modelling agency size-ism. The efforts to shift the narrow-minded beauty and body shape ideals that have dominated fashion have really been led from the ground up.

Chelsea Kronengold also added: “There has recently been an upward trend in women posting un-retouched or makeup-free selfies and photos to social networking sites. This expression of authentic beauty can have a positive impact on the way women think about beauty and their bodies.”

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Yes, YOU! Even if it doesn’t always feel that way, you are strong and worthy. …. #edwarrior #edwarriors #prorecovery #edrecovery #recovery #strongenough #bopo #eatingdisorder #eatingdisorderrecovery #anorexiarecovery #bulimiarecovery #bedrecovery #osfedrecovery

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Fashion as a worldwide industry is built up of customers, producers, creators, thinkers, advertisers, models and more. The majority of the time it can appear to run from the top down, with boss designers determining the new trends and influencing consumers on what to purchase on the high street. However, the industry is ultimately constructed upon millions of ordinary people.

Real people, who won’t allow objectification and can identify the absence of representation their bodies get. This can have more positive effect upwards within the fashion industry more than we realise. Entire companies and brands have been moulded around providing for more healthy body shapes since that’s what the consumers desire. Instead of questioning how it can influence our body image, the question should be how our bodies can inspire revolutions in the fashion industry for future generations.

Jessie Colligan

Ethnic Fashion White Faces

Gigi Hadid is deemed universally ethnic as ‘one size fits all’ mind set is applied across Vogue covers.

Increasingly in the fashion world, we are seeing white models such as Gigi Hadid dominating the front page of every fashion magazine. She has featured on the front page of Vogue China, Vogue India, Vogue Japan, Vogue Asia and even Vogue Arabia where she sported a headpiece. You can view these on the Vogue website.

 
This has caused an outcry in the fashion world as fans and models alike are accusing Vogue magazine and Hadid of cultural appropriation. This is a widely debated issue and has been repeatedly resurfacing the internet. Arguably, Hadid should not be victimized for accepting these work opportunities which are a prestigious honour in the fashion world. However, she must personally accept that she could damage her public image in the process.
Zaria Lazare, 16, is an ethnic model for Model Team Scotland. She is part of the diverse fashion world. She said: “I personally don’t find it offensive because it’s fashion. However, I find that maybe designers like Marc Jacobs should consider using ethnic models for that (ethnic) look as it’s a style made by their culture.”

For example, all previous Vogue Arabia covers feature models of colour with no backlash as they are not appropriating any culture. Whereas Gigi Hadid is white so is appropriating the headscarf; you can have a look at the previous covers here.

Models worldwide are offended at the choice to put a white model on magazine covers in Asia. Not only does this misrepresent the population and people, but arguably appropriates cultures native to the country. The headscarf being worn is specifically offensive to many women as they use headscarves as part of their religion, and not a fashion statement.

Many women are victimized and subject to violence for wearing headscarves while a white model is wearing one as a fashion statement.
Natasha Luwedde, 23, is employed as a model for London agency Select Model Management and for Colours Agency Scotland. Luwedde is a top ethnic model in Scotland and has walked in London fashion week. She has even been asked to walk for fashion giants Calvin Klein and Dior.

Luwedde said: “It is not just offensive, it is cringe-worthy and inappropriate. An obvious case of racial appropriation.”

It would be unfair to say that Vogue should accept all responsibility for cultural appropriation in the fashion world. There is no doubt that they didn’t intend to cause offence, but they must consider their readership in these countries before using a model simply because she is very famous. The publication needs to show a more diverse range of cover pages if they want to remain the top fashion magazine. Another organisation that has come under fire recently is luxury fashion brand, Marc Jacobs.

Luwedde has had her natural looks be significantly altered before when working.

She said: “You feel inadequate because your features are not appreciated.”

Marc Jacobs has been straightening the hair of black models on their fashion catwalk but have been putting cornrows in the hair of the white models. It is no surprise that fashion fans of all cultures were appalled by this as the brand is leading a poor example to young woman everywhere. From young girls to grown women, they are promoting the idea that ethnic models’ hair should be altered to suit the western world and catwalks. Yet ethnic models’ native cornrows are being styled on white models to give a ‘different’ look and attract attention. Cornrows were created to control the hair of ethnic women not be used as an unnecessary fashion accessory. You can watch the show here:

Lazare said: “As a model, I do support some aspects of Gigi Hadid being around the world on Vogue. She is a world known model so Vogue may want to use her for more publicity, it’s just business. However, I do feel models who are native to the country should get the opportunity to represent their country.”

 

Luwedde said: “I do not support it all. There are thousands of models that attend castings each day hoping for an opportunity like that.”

It is no coincidence that 2 ethnic models from the same area and given similar job roles share the same view, despite their age difference. It is worrying that as a 16-year-old girl, Lazare is already aware of and has experienced racial appropriation.

Social media hasn’t helped the fight between the fashion world and cultural appropriation in the slightest. Concerns are constantly heightened when the likes of social media superstar, Kim Kardashian alters her skin colour on her online profiles. This leaves the question of why is she doing this? This sets a poor example to her millions of fans that a lighter skin colour is more attractive. Social media sites need to look at shutting down pictures like this which have been clearly edited to limit the harm they can do when they become widespread.

 

Lazare said: “I don’t think altering features may be appropriate as some people may find it offensive.”

To combat this damage on both young women and men’s self-esteem, along with putting a stop to cultural appropriation, the fashion world must change with the times. Fans and models would be satisfied by brands celebrating models natural features and enhancing them; as they should encourage women around the world to do.

 

 

By Roslyn McBride

 

Missguided Say No To Photoshop

Throughout 2018, body positivity became a bigger movement than ever. Celebrities and companies promote positive body image, mental health and a new wave of feeling confident within ourselves. However, this movement seemed to pass over the fashion and beauty industry, with models appearing more photo-shopped and seemingly perfect than ever.

This year however, popular online clothing brand Missguided posted an Instagram picture, and people started noticing some differences. The website has a curve, tall and petite section, with sizes stretching from xs to xl, and 4 to 24, so is already far more inclusive than many other brands. The model in the image, wearing a bikini, had visible stretch marks and scarring across her thighs, chest and stomach. Rather than address this, Missguided quietly continued to post their models’ in their natural form, un-photoshopped and un-airbrushed. Fans began noticing the changes and immediately praised the brand for its new attitude.

 

The change came as part of the Missguided “In Your Own Skin” campaign, where images of unique and inspiring models not usually represented were shown on the website.

The brand then continued to post models with cellulite, birthmarks, freckles and countless other bodies which are never seen in the media.  Recently, Samantha Helligso, the brands creative manager, told the Daily Mail “As a brand, we feel we have a strong sense of social responsibility to support young women and inspire confidence,” she said. “So, we’re on a mission to do just that by showing our audience it’s okay to be yourself, embrace your ‘flaws,’ celebrate individuality, and not strive for what the world perceives as perfection. Because basically, it doesn’t exist.”

She added, “By showing imagery that’s real and authentic, we want to show it’s more than okay to be yourself. All you have is what you’ve got, so own it every day.”

However, other clothing sites are not as willing to change, and have had their fair share of photoshop fails when trying to make models appear perfect. A Ralph Lauren ad made headlines after making model Filippa Hamilton’s waist appear smaller than her head.

For many clothing brands, the clothes aren’t always the only thing being sold. Perfect models with flawless, airbrushed skin and Barbie-doll figures modelling equally perfect clothes? Almost guaranteed to keep a customer coming back in hopes that buying the product will make them as perfect as the model they see on screen. This only adds to the impossible, unachievable standards that girls and young women are exposed to every day. The only way to change this is for more brands to follow suit, and understand that the effects of “perfection” are far from perfect.

By Gabby Mckeown

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are The Kardashians To Blame For Plastic Surgery Surges?

The Kardashian family have been at the forefront of social media for the past 5 years.

They dominate every outlet from Instagram to Twitter to Snapchat.

It is no secret that the women in the family, specifically Kylie Jenner and Khloe Kardashian, are fans of cosmetic surgery. As they have posted images of their altered faces all over the internet in recent years, plastic surgery rates have risen.

Kylie Jenner even built a makeup brand off the back of her cosmetic surgery. The overwhelming media attention surrounding her lip fillers resulted in them becoming her famous trademark quality worldwide. From this, the youngest sister has built a beauty empire called Kylie Cosmetics, where she promotes a range of lip products and inspires young girls and women to want to look like her. This had enormous success and was heavily promoted by the family on social media, and now includes other makeup products too.

The family have been criticised for denying their surgery and putting fans under the impression that this is how a natural body and face should look. By constantly flaunting these unachievable figures online, many girls suffer from poor self-esteem due to images like this on social media.

By posting heavily edited pictures, fans are put under false pretences leading to many being disappointed after their own cosmetic surgery didn’t completely alter their appearance or match up to their favourite celebrities’ features. For instance, reality TV stars have altered their complete appearance after becoming famous.

Here in the UK, stars of successful shows Geordie Shore and The Only Way Is Essex openly promote surgery and clinics on their social medias with many claiming that they are addicted. New Geordie Shore cast member Abbie has only been on the show since March last year and has since had 8 procedures done, she told The Sun: “It’s a constant battle not to go overboard.” You can see how addictions can go too far for these reality stars below, as many have had staggering transformations.

The statistics below go to show that the constant promoting of the Kardashians abs and lip filler has had a direct involvement in the rise of plastic surgery. Figures from Plastic Surgery News press show the top 5 major procedures in 2015 to be; breast augmentation, liposuction, nose reshaping, eyelid surgery and tummy tucks. Among the 14.2 million cosmetic minimal procedures in 2015 were: Botox, soft tissue fillers ,chemical peels, laser hair removal and microdermabrasion.

You can view the full article here. (https://www.plasticsurgery.org/news/press-releases/new-statistics-reflect-the-changing-face-of-plastic-surgery)
In comparison, the Daily Star reported the 2017 statistics for major procedures being: athletic abs, undetectable implants, ‘tweakments’, non-surgical ear pinning and leg shaping. Specifically, the undetectable implants stand out as a problem as customers have been inspired by celebrities claiming to have these as ‘natural’ features.

View this post on Instagram

❣️I Love Myself A Mirror Selfie❣️

A post shared by Khloé (@khloekardashian) on Aug 19, 2017 at 6:27pm PDT

The Kardashians aren’t all bad. Arguably they shouldn’t be more strictly monitored on social media as they have made positive additions to women’s body images over recent years too. To give them credit, the family undoubtedly brought a different curvy body shape back into style and flaunted this in the fashion world. This does encourage women to embrace their curves and encourages their many fans to be healthy. The sisters do this by regularly updating their social media accounts with fitness regimes and health advice.

There is no telling what will be next for the Kardashians, whether they will be promoting body confidence or causing havoc on social media.

By Roslyn McBride