Fashion

The Changing Nature of Halloween Costumes

by sophie colley

Photo: Unsplash

The evenings get colder, the leaves turn brown, and the smell of Pumpkin Spiced lattes is in the air - autumn is officially here, meaning Halloween is right around the corner. With pubs and clubs reopening, 2021 offers an exciting opportunity to pick a costume or three to celebrate spooky season. However, with the huge amount of pop culture and media we are exposed to, alongside the nostalgic influences reignited during the lockdowns, it is not so easy to choose what to dress up as. Halloween has grown to be a massively celebrated time of year, invariably met with the impact of the changing nature of costumes.

It may seem that Halloween costumes inspired by popular culture are a modern trend - what friendship group has not attempted a Spice Girls tribute? However, it can be traced most notably from the 1950s onwards. Everyone knows and loves the classic costumes. Ghosts, witches, cats are all great ideas (especially on a budget) and are timeless Halloween hits. But from the mid-twentieth century, popular culture began to influence the costumes people were choosing to wear, and the 1950s and 1960s were filled with Disney-themed costumes and members of The Addams Family. As pop culture influences grew in America and the UK, the influence they had materialised in their Halloween costumes.

However, it is not called ‘Spooky Season’ for no reason. Trends continued to reflect the media in the 1970s when it became popular in America to wear presidential masks for Halloween costumes, Richard Nixon being a frequent choice. Recently, in 2016, this trend reoccurred alongside the Presidential election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Politics has become a notable trend for Halloween costumes, and whether supporting or mocking politicians, this is a trend we can expect to see in the future.

Trends changed drastically in the late 1990s and early 2000s when stores began to produce ‘sexy’ alternatives to Halloween costumes and professionbased uniforms, which remain popular to this day. This trend reflects the changing attitude towards fashion and empowerment in the early 2000s. Since the mid-twentieth century, Halloween has developed into an event not just for children but for adults too, with the variety of costumes expanding significantly over the years.

Whether it is television shows, blockbuster movies, or politics, the nature of Halloween costumes constantly changes to reflect the popular culture of its time. In that case, what do we predict for this year? With Squid Game and Bridgerton taking the world by storm, we can expect to see some creative costumes based on these highgrossing Netflix shows. Equally, with James Bond, Cruella de Vil, and Black Widow resurfacing in the film industry, these characters are likely to inspire viewers.

However, will our experiences during lockdown impact our decisions? Many hours in lockdown spent reading or watching films meant that nostalgia was incredibly prevalent, with older pop culture resurfacing. This year, we could see a rise in people dressing up as previous fictional characters as well as new ones. Book sales grew to £6.4 billion last year. Could we expect to see an abundance of Gatsbys and Tintins in 2021?

Regardless of whether a costume is old, new, political, nostalgic, or traditional, Halloween is the perfect time to dress up as something you love, feel passionate about, or simply feel good in.

Fashion 11 Fashion Companies to Limit Overall Clothing Production

By holly jackson

Are consumers buying too many clothes?

We all know that buying from huge fast-fashion companies has a detrimental impact on the environment. The fastfashion industry has experienced rapid growth in the last few years, especially during the pandemic, due to the increased popularisation of online shopping which churns out hundreds of new designs every day, certainly raising the question of sustainability, and in many cases, how ethical the production of cheap clothing is.

In this age, trends are short-lived, yet the demand for each brand’s latest outfits is still high. A contributing factor to this arguably comes from social media stars, flaunting the most recent designs and dictating many people’s outfit choices. Lots of items have become extremely sought-after due to the hype social media creates for them, leading to more consumption.

Responding to the environmental consequences of the fashion industry, Caroline Rush - the organiser of London Fashion Week and the Chief Executive of The British Fashion Council - has urged fashion giants that they need to sell less clothing in order to reduce the environmental footprint. As it stands, the fashion industry is responsible for approximately 10% of global emissions. Production has a devastating impact on various aspects of our environment, ranging from microplastic pollution, loss of ecosystems and biodiversity, to wasting large quantities of water.

Rush encourages consumers, “to think about repairing, to think about extending [your cloth] life, and not putting it in landfill at the end of the day”. There are certainly many ways to prolong the life cycle of your clothes, whether it be through upcycling, reselling, or donating to charity, and we as consumers should be mindful of this next time we go to throw something away. Luckily, online platforms such as Depop and Vinted make selling secondhand clothes easier than ever, helping you clear out your wardrobe and make a little extra cash, whilst keeping items out of landfill sites.

Rush also warns fashion giants that “we are at a point in the fashion industry when we are going to have to go through quite a significant transformation and systemic change”. She acknowledged that such drastic changes may not be suited to all fashion brands, who might find it difficult to adapt.

The British Fashion Council has also devised a blueprint designed to target the negative environmental impact of the industry: The Circular Fashion EcoSystem Report. It lays out a solution to developing a circular fashion economy by halving the amount of new clothing items, increasing the reuse of materials and clothing, and refining the methods through which textiles are sorted. This in turn would lead to an increase of jobs available in the fashion sector. The report also addresses the phenomenal amount of wastage being produced in the UK, and that change is necessary to resolve this.

In the meantime, as we wait for these plans to come into effect, it may be worth evaluating how we as consumers can act more sustainably.

“[...] think about repairing, to think about extending [your clothing’s] life, and not putting it in landfill at the end of the day.”

Photo: Unsplash

12 Fashion

Highlights from 2021 Paris Fashion Week

by sienna norris

This season’s Paris Fashion Week took place from 27th September until 5th October, and it was another memorable nine days amidst a pandemic. The event first started in 1973 and typically takes place twice a year in the fashion capital of the world. Paris Fashion Week is one of the biggest and well-known fashion events of the year, ahead of Milan and London, sporting a variety of looks year by year.

For this year’s runway looks, there were a lot of Parisian inspirations. Understandably, these styles were romantic, effortlessly chic, and simple yet captivating. The designers that drew the most inspiration from Paris are the ones that seem to have knocked it out of the park this year.

Prada’s counterpart, Miu Miu, was one of the several designers that took the week by storm. Their campaign was Apres-Ski, themed for the colder months ahead, as well as having a tribute to Y2K fashion. The celebrities sporting the Miu Miu brand were some of the most favourited looks from this year, with the most notable Miu Miu looks coming from Halle Bailey, Lucy Hale, Katherine Langford, and many more.

On the contrary, Thierry Mugler, the king of camp fashion, went in another direction. Cardi B’s red feather dress designed by Mugler was a complete showstopper. Other popular looks of the week came from Valentino, in which one runway took place on the streets, Givenchy, with one look sparking criticism over a noose-like necklace, Saint Laurent, and last but not least, Chanel.

Balenciaga ignited the most conversations at this year’s Paris Fashion Week, with The Simpsons making their runway debut. A short episode of the show played in front of an audience, the characters modelled Balenciaga couture, perhaps an imitation of Kim Kardashian’s dramatic Balenciaga looks from the last couple of months.

When talking about any Fashion event, it is hard to ignore the controversy that takes place. This year, a climate protestor on the runway during a Louis Vuitton show interrupted with a banner saying “overconsumption = extinction”. Despite this, the show went on. However, some designers, particularly Stella McCartney and Chloé turned to sustainable fashion for their designs, proving that big names can play a vast part in changing the climate crisis by going eco-friendly.

Overall, Paris Fashion week upheld its iconic status as the dominating annual fashion event with a wide variety of styles, outlooks, and inspirations.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

EditOR: Zorsha Taylor Suich