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? Certainly among fourth wave feminists, many of whom, in the UK at least, studied the book as part of the National Curriculum at A-level, Atwood is lionised, especially on Twitter, where she enthusiastically interacts with her 1.27 million followers on a regular basis. 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. “I, as a female person, don’t have any trouble reading Moby Dick. “Wonder Woman was read by everybody,” she continues. Angel Catbird is out in the UK on 8 September.
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. All participants wore Chanel, for this was the fashion house’s spring/summer 2015 show and a sure-fire sign that activism is in vogue. 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. But activism is easily politicised and style plates aren’t immune from sniping and factions.
Vogue’s Yeezy Season 4 review begs the question: Do fashion and politics mix?
Fashion reviews can be mean, mundane and sometimes even glowing — but rarely are they vehicles to make political statements. In its review of Kanye West’s Yeezy Season 4 show, which took place Wednesday afternoon at Four Freedoms Park on Roosevelt Island,Vogue.com went there when it said Donald Trump is a racist. The review, which was penned by Nicole Phelps, only nodded lightly to what most of the media was stuck on — the fact that Yeezy was largely a logistical and sartorial disaster — and instead, turned its attention to politics — not exactly Vogue’s forte. “West’s selection of the venue seemed pointed and intentional, a political statement in a contentious election year where the Republican candidate’s racism is possibly fueling a culture of hate,” Phelps wrote. Eyebrow-raising mention of the Republican candidate for president and his apparent racism seemed out of left field – but perhaps Phelps was merely channeling the controversial West? But that’s a tough one to swallow.
Brexit: what does it mean for online retailers? | Guardian Small Business Network
Whether it’s selling to a customer in France or importing supplies from Italy, Europe plays an instrumental role for many of the UK’s online retailers. The EU is Britain’s largest trading partner, while western European markets account for more than 50% of the export market for online businesses, according to Volo, the community of multichannel sellers. Now online retailers – like many businesses, politicians and the rest of society – are grappling to understand what the decision to leave the EU might mean for their future. While nothing is clear-cut as yet, etailers say the effect is already being felt, not least because of the depreciation of the pound. On the other side of the currency fluctuation, wine etailer Baacco says the weakening of the pound has made some of its expensive and sought-after wines more attractive to international buyers. Batchelor adds that goods may attract local VAT and import duties depending on how any trade agreements are set up.
UK retail sales shrug off Brexit vote
Image copyright Reuters UK retail sales were stronger than expected in August, suggesting consumer confidence has held up in the wake of the Brexit vote. Sales volumes fell by just 0.2% last month, the Office for National Statistics said, while sales were up 6.2% from August last year The ONS said the underlying pattern for the retail sector was "solid growth". "Overall the figures do not suggest any major fall in post-referendum consumer confidence," it said. The sales increase for July was also revised higher from 1.4% to 1.9% - the best performance for the month in 14 years. ING economist James Knightley said the figures offered further evidence that the UK was weathering the short-term effects of the Brexit vote well. "Sterling's fall is likely to have boosted sales of high-end items by foreign tourists as watches and fashions become relatively cheaper for them when bought in the UK versus elsewhere," he added. "The chances the official data are revised down therefore seem high," he said.
