Critics are objective, fashion editors subjective in their views when it comes to the fashion shows. Critics explain and contextualise what is worth taking a moment to appreciate, and what doesn’t have any value or worse, when designers completely fail. Fashion editors on the other hand treat the shows as elaborate shopping events, pick things they like. It’s that black and white, right? …read more
Initially, this piece was easy. Just choose from the latest menswear a/w 2014 shows, roughly five collections I would wear and five collections I wouldn’t, if I were a man. Then give reasons why I liked or didn’t like them. It wasn’t so simple. …read more
A year ago, Chime for Change was born: a feminist organisation promoting health, education and justice for women and girls across the world, which was founded by Italian luxury fashion brand Gucci. Since then, it has helped raise awareness and money for a variety of causes, including taking part in the current world-wide focus on stopping a culture of rape in India. …read more
As a fashion critic, I’m always trying to reflect on why I respond to certain fashions with enthusiasm and joy whereas others have the opposite affect on me. One might argue that all of this comes down to personal taste, I believe signs of time, cultural influences and politics of life that underpin fashion should be at the forefront of our minds when trying to make sense of what we see on the runways or in the shops …read more
This tale – as many within this journal – continues the quest to locate and identify constructive, critical and credible fashion criticism. Critical discussion of fashion in popular culture could be understood in two very different ways. One interpretation could be that of a discussion, which finds fault with fashion, the other as a discussion characterised by careful analysis of fashion. …read more
Depending on how much you like beer and pies, the waistline should be the narrowest part of your torso, officially positioned horizontally between the hips and ribs. Not many people know this because there are so many design lines calling themselves a waistline. This would be totally fine, except who knows how to wear any of them? …read more
Nothing is glamorous these days. Dresses are not glamorous, women are not glamorous, men are not glamorous, movies are not glamorous, nothing is glamorous. In the age, where everything is exposed, discussed, documented, photographed, written or captured on film, the concealment that anything glamorous requires, is now a paradox. …read more
Royal College of Art is one of the world’s leading educational institution with a number of degrees on practical aspects of art and design. Therefore, it is a perfect location for counterbalancing degree in Critical Writing in Art and Design that aims to develop literary and intellectual skills required to write about the subject. This two year, full-time Masters degree that has been running for …read more
Cool people, like fashionable people are rare. Cool is a state of being. You can’t fake it or it will appear contrived. It’s an attitude that can’t be bought. You can buy cool things or take part in cool activities, but they are nothing if you don’t ooze the cool juice from your very own core. Like you and your clothes, cool is three-dimensional. It is not enough to strike a pose in front of the mirror you need to have the cool with you at all times, visible from every angle, in motion, and even when you are asleep. …read more
What I’m about to say, I thought would stay between the four walls of the un-judging security of my home. It is as embarrassing as declaring a love for Roberto Cavalli’s aesthetics or appraising Primark for their design merits. I know my statement is bound to arouse intellectual snobbery amongst some but here is goes: I love …read more
Walking through Dalston in East London, I saw this book sitting in the window of Oxfam charity shop. Eagerly, I took it from the sales assistant as he climbed out of the window display. Scanning through, I asked “Is this some kind of joke?”, the same response I’ve had from other people I’ve shown it to since. Next to my new declaration “This book belongs to: Grace Eagle”, the welcome letter, from joint authors Judith Wilske and …read more
I have a complex relationship with fashion. Having studied fashion design at university, spent the better part of my career working with garments and fashion in general and now occasionally teaching fashion design, I am fully aware of the ins and outs of fabrics, pattern cutting, construction and finishing. When I’m wandering around shops, I tend to levitate towards both mens and womenswear departments to inspect and examine the tactile merits of garments …read more