Jeremy Corbyn vows to fight austerity in TUC speech - BBC News Jeremy Corbyn has vowed to fight the government's proposed welfare cuts and other austerity measures, labelling the Conservatives "poverty deniers". In a speech to TUC Congress in Brighton, the new Labour leader said austerity was a "political choice, not an economic necessity". He also signalled he would fight plans for conditions on union strike ballots, saying unions were vital to UK society. He said he would not be "an all-seeing all-knowing leader". He told delegates that he wanted input from all parts of society, including unions, to develop a different kind of inclusive, digital politics. Ahead of the TUC speech leading unions warned they will vote for a UK exit from the EU if workers' rights are weakened by the PM's EU renegotiations. Follow the latest developments in text and video But Mr Corbyn appeared to suggest he would not back an "in" vote at any cost, with Labour MPs saying the changes Mr Cameron agreed to social and employment protections had to be "right ones".
What is Slow Fashion? | Slow Fashioned When a new concept like Slow Fashion comes around it is often hard to describe it. We find ourselves grasping for parallels like: ‘Slow Fashion is a sister movement to Slow Food’ or using comparisons like ‘Slow Fashion is the opposite of Fast Fashion’ or even clarify a little more like: “Slow Fashion ≠Anti Fashion” or “quality over quantity” — and while it is important to understand what Slow Fashion IS and is NOT is some sort of familiar term or phrase it isn’t enough to capture the essence of the movement. Rather than pigeonhole the entire movement into these little sound bites we need start to explore what Slow Fashion CAN be rather than what it CAN’T — Slow Fashion opens up a world of creative possibilities in personal fashion that chasing fast trends at the mall never will: Slow Fashion… …Celebrates Personal Style Slow Fashion embraces the idea of personal expression through your clothing. Related articles:
Inside Fashion’s Instagram Wars | Intelligence, Fashion-Tech NEW YORK, United States — Throughout the year, Proenza Schouler designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez and their team use Instagram to communicate with more than 342,000 followers, posting images that represent the world of the brand. But as fashion week kicks off, the Proenza boys, as they are known in the industry, are upping their game. For Spring 2016, the designers have partnered with reportage and portraiture photographer Landon Nordeman to capture and convey the brand’s take on the season with a total of five images posted over five days. “This project explores different elements of our design process: everything from more abstract inspiration and research, to sketching and sample making in our atelier,” Hernandez says. “It is a more intimate look,” McCollough continues. “We wanted to show the attention to detail and how things are made, which are often overlooked." Proenza Schouler Instagram image | Photo: Landon Nordeman)
London Fashion Week 2015: From catwalk to High Street 24 February 2015Last updated at 19:03 ET By Harriet Hall BBC News Inside London Fashion Week Twice a year, London's grand neoclassical Somerset House, welcomes a tumult of fashion designers and their models dressed in their finest gladrags. The courtyard becomes the centre of London Fashion Week - a far cry from the building's sober past as home to the Inland Revenue. This year sees the event's 61st year, during which more than 250 designers will showcase their collections for autumn and winter to a global audience. For those outside the fashion industry, it can be difficult to appreciate why this week is so important. Indeed, watching the crowds teetering on vertiginous heels, heads topped with designer sunglasses, arms toting handbags and hands clutching smartphones, it is easy to understand why. Yet while it may look like a big party to outsiders, the week is a crucial one for the industry. Some catwalk fashions may seem outlandish or frivolous.... Trickle-down trends “Start Quote
UK Plus Size Fashion Week Founder, Rianne Ward, On Why We Should Embrace The Term 'Plus Size' There's a lot of debate about whether the fashion industry should ditch the term "plus-size", but one woman firmly behind keeping it alive is Rianne Ward. Ward is committed to making the fashion industry more inclusive and diverse, but for her the only way to change it is from within - and this involves not only talking the industry's talk, but walking its walk. "'Plus-size' is the term the industry uses and we should embrace it," she tells HuffPost UK Lifestyle. "I have no problem with the term. That's why she's launched , UK Plus Size Fashion Week (UKPSFW), which runs from 11-13 September, the week prior to the official London Fashion Week. UK Plus Size Fashion Week runs from 11-13 September Ward hopes the event's timing, central London location and professionalism will help establish plus size fashion as a "serious" player within the industry. The event builds on British Plus Size Fashion Week, an event Ward co-founded in 2013. "I've always been big," she tells HuffPost UK Lifestyle.
Is Fashion a Credible Platform for Protest? | Opinion, BoF Comment Vivienne Westwood Red Label Spring/Summer 2015, Jean Paul Gaultier Spring/Summer 2015, Stella McCartney | Photo Collage: BoF LONDON, United Kingdom — Last week in Paris, Chanel appropriated the visual signifiers of feminist protest for its seasonal runway show. In a finale led by Karl Lagerfeld, a bevy of supermodels took to a catwalk christened “Boulevard Chanel” holding signs with slogans such as “History is Her Story,” “Make Fashion Not War,” and “Tweed Is Better Than Tweet.” Playing out against this backdrop, the “faux-test” staged on Boulevard Chanel rang especially hollow, repackaging political riot as a light-hearted, Instagram-savvy performance. We think it can. Over the course of a career spanning more than three decades, Jean Paul Gaultier has used the fashion show format to address the socially and politially charged issues of female empowerment and beauty. Vivienne Westwood is living proof of fashion’s ability to carry and convey a political agenda.
Debating Style, Courtesy of Jeremy Scott and Carolina Herrera Photo Is Jeremy Scott the Donald Trump of American fashion? Not in terms of politics — definitely not in terms of politics — but in terms of positioning? His success is impossible to ignore, whether or not you liked the extended riff on bouffants, the B-52s, ’60s mod and cartoon caricatures he offered in pastel shades of patent, cotton knit and silk. Continue reading the main story Slide Show At the very least, it has exposed the extent to which many designers like to play it safe, and stick to the familiar party line. , for example, created his usual elaborate set — this time, an entire Caribbean lagoon complete with water, tiki bar and palm tree — for a show of peppy but entirely unoriginal striped crochets, flower-child patchwork prints and silk bombers. Continue reading the main story Slide Show This isn’t necessarily bad: There are plenty of women whose comfort zone is consistency. As was the subtle way Mr. Continue reading the main story Slide Show Photo As was the subtle way Mr.
Japan's women's magazines ramp up focus on politics amid widespread concern over Abe's security reforms Public anxiety over the security legislation is in the streets — and in print. Even women’s fashion magazines have discussed the topic alongside recipes and hemlines, in a measure of how deeply aware the public is of the changes afoot. An edition of Shukan Josei (Women’s Weekly) published on Sept. 8 focused on women who took part in a massive rally outside the Diet on Aug. 30 in protest at the security bills. “Dear Prime Minister Abe, Do you know why we are angry?” The article ended declaring: “We don’t need a prime minister who doesn’t understand how women feel.” In its July 14 edition, the same magazine carried a major 10-page feature about the security bills, including an interview with Seiichiro Murakami, a Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker who opposes the legislation. “We were surprised by the large number of responses on Twitter and on the Internet,” said Bunichi Terada, the magazine’s editor-in-chief. “They have no interest in splits within political parties,” he said.
Can Feminists Like Fashion? - Forbes Céline 2012 Runway Feminism and fashion have always had a rocky relationship, a point hammered home in an article in Ms. magazine’s January issue, “If The Clothes Fit: A Feminist Take On Fashion.” The piece explores the tumultuous role that fashion has historically played in gender politics—both serving as a medium for the advancement of women, and as a weapon of restraint. It’s hard to deny the key role that fashion has played in the women’s movement. The Ms. article points to New York City women garment workers in the early 20th century who wore hats to signify that they were earning their own money, and thus financially independent. Women in the 1980s adopted a male style of dress (ties, tailored skirt suits, shoulder pads) in order to gain a foothold in the male dominated world of business. That being said, feminist notions that fashion can be destructive, certainly didn’t come from thin air. Fortunately, fashion in recent years does appear to be moving in a feminist direction.
Chanel's Feminist Protest Was Best Thing About Fashion Week Girl power! Chanel had some memorable finales including the time pregnant model Ashleigh Goode closed the haute couture show show wearing a wedding gown. For the finale of their Spring/Summer 2015 at Paris Fashion Week, Karl Lagerfeld accompanied models in a feminism protest. Instead of doing the typical runway finale, models carried signs with positive messages like “History Is Her Story,” “He Is She,” “Feminism Not Mascohism” and “Be Different!” Some models had mega horns, including Cara Delevingne, who was at the front of the pack. According to Harper’s Bazaar, Whitney Houston‘s “I’m Every Woman” blasted from the speakers as the models marched down the runway. The clothes didn’t feature any feminism messages or obvious themes, but there were a series of bright, bold florals that went well with the show’s bold and empowering finale. It’s great that Chanel closed the show with such a strong feminist message. Click here, for more fashion week coverage.
Political Movements in Fashion Can fashion have a political conscience? The question is a recurring one, and the answers are all too often clichéd. Examples of the industry’s insensitivity and lack of sympathy (or knowledge) towards social and political realities surface regularly in the media, and stories about blackface editorials and articles praising the “beauty” and “philanthropy” of the wives of Middle East dictators make the movie Zoolander look like a realistic take on the fashion world. However (and contrary to popular belief) fashion is just as often used as a social commentary. "In an ultra-connected world where news goes instantly global thanks to the Internet, it has become impossible for designers to ignore their political conscience" The political movement in fashion proved especially strong during the autumn/winter 2014 shows, as designers conveyed their activism through the catwalk. “I’m not politically outspoken but I make statements regularly in my work” — Pam Hogg Text by Marta Represa
Dress codes: can there be a productive relationship between politics and fashion? Is Margaret Atwood a feminist? That’s what I’m trying to work out during our lamentably brief time together squished around a table in the back of a promotional booth at a comics convention in California. Obviously, you might roll your eyes, Have you read The Handmaid’s Tale? But what many of them forget is that Atwood, who is now 76, grew up on the cusp between first and second wave feminism, a time when women were fighting for tangible goals such control over their reproductive rights rather than the right to publish nude selfies without criticism. This becomes evident when I ask her whether she ever considered making the super-heroic protagonist of her latest work, a graphic novel called Angel Catbird about a (male) scientist who gets spliced in an accident with both a cat and an owl, a woman, especially in light of recent criticism that there aren’t enough comics aimed at girls? “I, as a female person, don’t have any trouble reading Moby Dick.
Fashtivism: "I just use fashion as an excuse to talk about politics" | Fashion News | Fashion When a band of beautiful, angry young women storm the streets holding placards, the world listens. Undeniably, it helps when the chief firebrand is a supermodel. Yesterday in Paris, the cradle of protest, Cara Delevingne led an uprising; dressed for battle in a power suit with her megaphone held high. A line of the best-dressed protesters in recent history followed in her wake brandishing signs demanding “divorce for all”, “history, her story” and “match the machos”. The activists accessorised with bags reading “make fashion not war”, but this was not a straightforward outpouring of political sentiment. The production was an unexpected move from head designer Karl Lagerfeld, who may share a first name with a certain Left-winger but once said: “I’m in fashion. Never mind the front row, this month it was all about being seen at The People’s Climate March in London. But activism is easily politicised and style plates aren’t immune from sniping and factions. Reuse content
Finding Feminism in Fashion At the start of my junior year of college, I was elected co-chair of an organization called WomenSpeak, which hosted a series of events on campus each spring. A week of lectures, film, readings, symposia—the usual consciousness-raising whatnot. And to plan it, we organizers would convene every Thursday over dinner, half a dozen underslept young ladies in flannels and baggy jeans, fired up on Faludi and railing against the patriarchy. Having a sense of style is not selling out the sisterhood. So there I was, Thursday after Thursday, raising verbal hell about reproductive rights and structural misogyny, and meanwhile, in the book bag strung over my chair, there was probably a copy of Allure, dog-eared to an article about mastering frizz. She said something like that, anyway. Really, the condescension some people direct at fashion is just unbearable. Thus do I rise to a ringing endorsement of fashion. I could go on. Feminism is not a matter of appearances. We could do better, though.