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.
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.
Does Fashion Have a Place in Politics?
Whilst some may argue that fashion and politics have no business being mentioned in the same sentence- I disagree. My interest in fashion from a young age stemmed from a fascination in clothing’s purpose beyond the practical. I’ve always been intrigued by the way personal style acts as a non-verbal rhetoric that we use to communicate who we are with each other. Psychologist have deduced that it takes us just 3 seconds to make a judgment about someone based on their appearance. Much like politics, fashion is paradoxically elitist whilst also being democratic. And whether you’re a front row fixture, or couldn’t give two hoots whether the seventies are making a resurgence for SS15; (FYI: they are) you probably consider what the outfit you pick to wear each day conveys to the world to some degree- be that donning a suit to look smart and professional for a job interview, or wearing a particular brand to signal your allegiance to a style tribe.
