Retrospection NOTES ON
SEASON MAGAZINE F/W 2022 Vol. 05 Issue 1
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
Director of Marketing : Nanette Zhang
Director of Communications : Arianna Weisberg
PR Nicole Hurd Shilpi Jena Isabelle Wu
EVENT
PLANNING
Anika Narula
Mansi Patel
Christina Van Buskirk
PODCAST
Samantha Berke Alanna Herrey Max Holman Ava Odden Brooklynn Shively
SOCIAL MEDIA
Chloe Foster-Storch
Luke Hamilton
Maddie Kosc Lucille Pietri
SEASON MAGAZINE
F/W 2022 • VOL. 5 ISSUE 1
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Georgia Manges
EDITORIAL
Director : Mansi Mamidi
Tory Basile
Camaya Fletcher
Mia Galante
Myah Garza Sofia Goldstein Kate Kainz
Dylan Meyers Kayla Pallotto Nidhee Patel
Katherine Pietrangelo Caroline Turner Natalie Scholz Erin Stafford CREATIVE
DESIGN
Director : Olivia Childress
LAYOUT DESIGN
Caterina Desantis
Naomi Grossman Francie McCormick
MERCH & STYLING
Director : Neely Branham
Alisha Ahmed
Aanjaneya Bagri
Carmen Cancila
Katie Kinsella Natalia Kwak
Elizabeth Lopez-Ruiz
Ava Mikola Sophia Newman Jillian Pullen Julia Rusyniak Caitlyn Soegiantoro Taylor Stine Grace Suiaung Calvin Sung Caroline Vegter Camryn Zapinski
PHOTOGRAPHY
Director : Aanya Jain
PHOTO
Mira Carlson
Mohena Gupta
Lydia Norton
Website Manager : Thaja Thangjam special thanks to Cherry Canary, SLTC, & Artisan Alley
Skye McLaughlin Drew Reed Melanie Roberts Jannica Seraypheap Lydia Yong
SOCIAL MEDIA DESIGN
Victoria Freitas
cover photo by Mohena Gupta
Clare Keller
Sophie McSherry Kaitlyn Pollock
Audrey Osborn Klaire Rasche
Ellie Woytek
VIDEO
Ria Agarwal
Ziona Tharakan
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Retrospection NOTES ON
It can often feel daunting, standing at the beginning of the semester, with the responsibility of coming together and creating a new, creative edition. I certainly felt the weight of this as we began the semester; hoping to produce something unique, but unsure of where to begin. As with each new season, this one has brought much change for Season Magazine. We’ve come to see a new, different side of the pandemic, one where we are discovering how to live in reimagined ways; to create something more sustainable than before, in the world we knew pre-Covid. The SZN team has encountered the usual shifting of directors, freshness of incoming members, and navigating juggling school while creating an incredible issue. The busyness of the semester requires each member to devote time and attention to a lot at once. It’s no easy task — remaining productive, but also going deep, spending time in introspection to discover what creative ideas and themes arise. This process parallels the flow of our real lives, pushing us to expand what we know and create something
new and better. As we came together and brainstormed ideas, what arose was a sense of curiosity with the past— trends, habits, norms. What have we held onto and made our own now? In retrospect, we see things a little bit clearer and realize that few ideas are entirely new, but rather reconstructed versions of what we’ve already seen, experienced, and been taught. It’s our responsibility to create a better world through this process of recollection and reformation.
Now, standing on the other side of the process, the SEASON team and I know more than we did before. We see things differently because we have more perspective. The theme of each issue tends to mirror what we are going through in real life; this issue is no exception. In this Fall/Winter edition, you will see glimpses of the past and glimpses of something new. These are our notes on retrospection. Enjoy!
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LETTER
THE
Georgia Manges
FROM
EDITOR
TABLE OF CONTENTS
THE
DREAM
RUNAWAY BRIDE
RETRO RENAISSANCE
04
AMERICAN
photographed by Lydia Norton
story by Dylan Meyers
photographed by Aanya Jain story by Tory Basile
photographed by Audrey Osborn story by Kate Kainz
BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE ERA
HYPERCONSUMERISM
photographed
by Klaire Rasch story by Katherin Pietrangelo
IN THE CARDS
photographed by Mira Carlson story by Myah Garza
05
photographed by Mohena Gupta, Ellie Woytek story by Erin Stafford
American
The Dream Dream Dream Dream 07
THE REAL REASON FOR “FOR MEN” MARKETING
By Dylan Meyers
The male beauty industry has made significant strides since the start of the 21st century. This is often attributed to the rise of social media, wherein men have become more vulnerable and honest in sharing their journey towards self improvement. The normalization of more traditionally feminine ideologies in terms of skincare and clothing has allowed others to feel more comfortable within societal views of gender and what it entails. Larger companies such as Tom Ford and Dove launched Tom Ford for Men and Dove Men+Care respectively, with strictly men-focused beauty companies such as Stryx popping up as well. The men’s beauty market is more saturated than ever before. The question to ask is why has it taken this long for men to feel comfortable again using products that have been around for centuries and why many still aren’t?
Men have historically indulged in more western conforming ideas of femininity
for as long as we have records. As early as 3000 BC, Chinese and Japanese men created nail polishes out of natural ingredients as an indication of wealth. This trend of men partaking in traditionally feminine activities as a sign of status carried on until the end of the 18th century, when a period later coined by British psychologist John Carl Flügel as the “Great Masculine Renunciation” occurred. During this period, as Flügel states, “man abandoned his claim to be considered beautiful… [and] henceforth aimed at being only useful.” This essentially outlawed areas of beauty such as shiny accessories, high heels, and makeup, exclusively marketing them towards women. This coincided with the move towards industrialization in the Western world, which shifted status to be based upon work rather than lineage. Traditional American values concerning gender roles stemmed from this, ushering in the era of roughneck cowboys,
grizzled factory workers, and the male provider mindset into the 19th century and beyond.
As history thereby shows us, the idea of men embracing the effeminate aspects of beauty is not an entirely new concept. However, it is one that has been pushed down and swallowed by civilization, especially in the West. These newfound views have evolved, concerning themselves with other areas of human psychology and discrimination. Originally stemming from misogyny, it now coincides with homophobia and transphobia. The stern assignment of gender roles made any man who dare dabble in the more feminine aspects of beauty and fashion concerned for their safety in an increasingly hostile world towards homosexuals and trans individuals. The values of postwar America in the mid 20th century solidified this, and the idea of even being thought of as either homosexual or transgender was enough to turn most of the male population away.
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A commitment to diversity and inclusion are the most progressive ways in which brands and marketing campaigns interact with us in the modern era, yet marketing for mens beauty and hygiene products seem to be anything but.
photographed by Lydia Norton head stylist Jillian Pullen styled by Ava Mikola, Taylor Stine modeled by Dylan Meyers, Ariel Castillo layout by Caterina DeSantis, Melanie Roberts
It was around three quarters of the way into the 20th century when pop culture began to challenge ideals regarding men’s beauty and femininity. Music icons such as David Bowie, Prince, and Freddie Mercury all pushed back against the harsh limits of what a man should or should not be wearing. They would wear bright colors, flowy outfits, and coated their faces with makeup during performances, signifying that they weren’t afraid of being seen as effeminate, thus battling the overwhelmingly heteronormative views of the time. They helped pioneer the glam rock genre, an art form characterized by the glittery flamboyance and androgyny of performers. They laid the foundation for the artists today,
such as Harry Styles, Kid Cudi, and Jaden Smith to continue to push the boundaries of male femininity. This has rolled into social media, especially on TikTok, where influencers such as Wisdom Kaye and Vinnie Hacker receive significant praise for wearing makeup, skirts, and high heels.
The new age is still deeply divided though, with some reverting back to pre-Great Masculine Renunciation ideas on what is socially acceptable for men to wear. Others on the opposite end of the spectrum say masculine men are the minority and need to be brought back. Masculinity in itself is fine as long as masculinity doesn’t turn towards misogyny; that is where it becomes inherently
harmful. This is the issue that most companies choose to ignore when it comes to their gendered products — choosing to adhere to the masculine ideals of their consumer and creating distinctions in products where, chemically, there really aren’t any.
Men’s makeup brands believe they are counteracting this way of thinking by allowing men to feel more comfortable using products such as concealer to hide natural blemishes. This, in theory, is fantastic. But the real issue is the fact that gender and the role it plays in society has become so entrenched in our culture that it has caused men to be fearful and uncomfortable navigating their version of femininity, or even general
TED
WAN
Dead Dead Dead alive alive alive
beautification and hygiene. This is the actual reason why “For Men” marketing has become so prevalent. These brands still have to use specific marketing strategies for men to even purchase their products, let alone promote their use to others. Their products need to be marketed towards health and utility rather than beauty
and fashion. They use muted colors and toned down designs because that’s what appeals to the greater male demographic. It is an effective business strategy, but one that is deeply rooted in the foundations of western civilization where men cannot feel comfortable embracing the feminine and less heteronormative aspects
of life. The world seems to be fighting back against these facets of our lives, as younger generations have shown us a side where hope gleams. The response to many celebrities nowadays has shown that people are seeing what it truly means to embrace the products and clothing that were once for all genders.
Wild
WEST
X
X
Runaway Bride
DEATH OF THE COOL GIRL
By Tory Basile
She’s ethereal. She’s eminent. She’s the star of every 18 year-old boy’s (and 38 year-old man’s) wet dreams. She’s cool.
The ubiquitous “Cool Girl” has landed a supporting role in film since the medium’s inception. When she appears on screen, we recognize her character. The camera lingers over her, scanning up her legs before settling on her face. She’s not wearing any makeup – she couldn’t bother despite her carefully curated eyebrows and constant flush. She’s chill, funny, effortlessly hot.
Cool Girl goes out for beers and pizza with any averagelooking male protagonist and scarfs down six slices of Extra Cheesy Meatlovers with ease. Despite eating whatever she wants and never exercising, she inexplicably remains a stunning size two. After dinner, she’ll drive home with her man while bantering about cars and basketball. They’ll play a round of Xbox together before she crawls into bed with him, where she’s down to do whatever he wants (did you know Cool Girl actually really likes giving head?)
Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl immortalizes this elusive, mainstream Cool Girl. In the cult-classic monologue, the
novel’s leading woman and antagonist, Amy Dunne, breaks down the two-dimensional Cool Girl – she’s what men want, she’s what no woman could ever be.
“Cool Girls are above all hot,” Dunne says. “Hot and understanding. Cool Girls never get angry; they only smile in a chagrined, loving manner and let their men do whatever they want.”
By Amy’s standards, the unending performance to embody the Cool Girl sounds completely exhausting. So exhausting that Amy is driven to fake her own death, frame her cheating husband for the murder, and kill anyone who gets in the way of her disturbed plan.
Amy is a murderous, perverse, sociopathic lunatic. But – weirdly – audiences get her.
This nonchalant contortion – pretending to be the emotionless, ever-forgiving, always-sexy, pseudo woman – is an act many are skilled in. Anyone who’s forced themself to wait a perfectlycasual amount of time before replying to a text, or to feign chilling apathy when someone disrespects them, understands Amy’s exhaustion.
Thus, audiences’ desire for
Cool Girl films has dwindled in recent years. People just don’t crave the Andy Andersons, Mary Jensons, or Donna Pinciottis like they used to. Nostalgic as they may be, those characters – living, breathing embodiments of male fantasy – just aren’t relatable to many viewers.
People are messy, angry, violent, complicated amalgams of emotion. Yet for decades, feminine roles in popular media have been diluted to be everything but. Female characters have been poked and cinched until made palatable to mainstream audiences – sweet, calm, sexy.
Luckily, media content producers today have swung a giant axe at the Cool Girl archetype, ushering in a militia of batshit crazy, Hysterical Women in her wake. These characters are more difficult to define than their predecessor. They’re gun-wielding lunatics. They’re cold, conniving bitches. They’re sobbing, pathetic messes. Anything but ‘cool’ –and isn’t that refreshing?
For the majority of media (and human) history, violence has been reserved for men. Historically, women have been molded to be nurturing peacemakers – leaving the unfeminine sword-slinging to
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In the age of constant exposure and oversharing, media’s newest and most beloved female leads invite us to bare it all on the big screen with them.
the boys, and leaving women with no outlet for the anger boiling inside of them.
But now, the Hysterical Woman has sliced her way out of those confines to grace the blood-spattered silver screen. Pearl – the namesake of Ti West’s 2022 technicolor slasherflick – longs for stardom far away from her family’s farm, and suffers sexual and emotional repression.
Played by Mia Goth, the furious young farm wife endures a mental break and goes on an outrageously gory murder spree. West’s depiction of Pearl is
surprisingly tender; audiences are forced to feel for the cute psychopath skipping across the screen.
The Hysterical Woman isn’t a precisely new phenomenon. Goth’s portrayal of utter madness in Pearl is reminiscent of her crazy foremothers. Glenn Close’s bunny-boiling stalker Alex Forrest in the 1987 thriller Fatal Attraction paved the way for the mad women that followed her. Uma Thurman’s “The Bride” in Quentin Tarantino’s 2003 Kill Bill leads a one-woman, machete murder spree. In Black Swan, Nina, a ballerina played by Natalie Portman, directs her violence inward as she suffers incredible psychological delusion as a result of her crippling perfectionism. And of course, we can’t forget about Amy
While these women’s violent justifiable, their stories portray anger and devastation in an innately feminine way. They aren’t characters who happen to be hysterical, and happen to be women. They’re characters who have endured the constraints of the patriarchy – of the Cool Girl – and decided to break
But not all of these characters
characters – like the titular star of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s 2016 show Fleabag – would rather dissociate from their charged emotions, and instead implode their lives with reckless abandon.
feminism,” popularized by the 2019 Buzzfeed News article “The
Smartest Women I Know are All Dissociating,” defines this kind of messy acceptance of life as a woman. Rather than leaning into patriarchal oppression like the Cool Girl, or chopping it into tiny bits like Pearl, these characters have toasted their defeat, and are going to get belligerently drunk doing so.
Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag should be unlikable. She’s a chain smoking, swearing, lying cheater. She fights with her family, sleeps with her best friend’s partner (and a priest!), and chugs red wine to excess. And yet, she manages to be undeniably lovable. Due in large part to social media and Waller-Bridge’s arguable genius, the show has amassed exceptional critical and audience acclaim. Viewers relate to her, care about her journey, and feel compelled to defend her even in her (hilariously messy) worst moments.
Some dissociative hysterics take the role to a clinical level, like the unnamed protagonist of Ottessa Moshfegh’s 2018 novel My Year of Rest and Relaxation. Suffering incredible depression and loneliness, the New York socialite pops sketchy sleeping pills to ensure she’s barely cognizant for the better part of a year. She’s skinny, blonde, rich, and model-pretty. Throughout the novel, she can barely produce a coherent thought during her periods of manufactured unconsciousness, but she regularly looks in the mirror to appreciate that she’s still attractive.
Therein lies the Hysterical Woman’s greatest fault – Cool Girl or not, she’s still a sex symbol. Mia Goth, Waller-Bridge
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and Moshfeigh’s stories are far more compelling than the cardboard Cool Girl. But they’re still predominantly played by conventionally attractive, thin, straight white women. While their personalities may be more relatable, they aren’t superficially different from the female characters who came before them. With sexy, attractive women still at the forefront, it’s not entirely revolutionary to market “crazy is the new cool”. Nonetheless, there is an undeniable catharsis in seeing these women boil to the surface.
Cisgender heterosexual men
have always gotten to be violent, angry and flawed in media. Now, it’s cisgender heterosexual women’s turn.
Laura Mulvey coined the “male gaze” film theory in 1973. She writes that the media often portrays women as objects of desire – things to be looked at, a pair of legs or a piece of ass for the camera to pan over. In objectifying female characters on screen, their male counterparts (and the audience watching them) get all the power. Men get to be people – acting, emoting –and women get to be hot.
The rise of Hysterical
Women in film may not be the perfect antidote to the male gaze, but it’s certainly a welcomed subversion. The Cool Girl is a prison, inviting women to buy into their own oppression as they shrink themselves into a desirable, less-thanhuman package. Through the hyperbolized depiction of rage or sorrow, the Hysterical Women allows audiences to finally recognize small glints of their emotional landscape on screen. Ethical or not, crazy women have made being a complete, complex person cool.
photographed by Aanya Jain head stylist Ava Mikola styled by Sophia Newman, Grace Suiaung modeled by Sophia Born layout by Caterina DeSantis, Melanie Roberts
By Kate Kainz
Click. A Led Zeppelin tape is pressed into the boombox, a keg gets tapped, and the crisp fall air buzzes with school spirit and camaraderie as mingling college students kick back in their letterman jackets, tube socks, and high-rise denim in a sea of cream and crimson. Scenes like this were pervasive in the tailgate culture of the ‘80s and ‘90s. Interestingly, the strength of our game day enthusiasm isn’t the only thing that now parallels them. We may have replaced the boomboxes with JBL speakers and the kegs with hard seltzers, but the aesthetic of this period is something that is now sought after.
There’s no doubt that there’s been much evolution in the trends we flaunt in our game day ensembles. For many, simplicity has been abandoned in favor of headto-toe candy stripes, cow print, and various other patterns that are as loud as the stadium itself. However, as of late,
others have begun to turn back towards tradition. Look around the tailgate fields on a game day, or even just the sidewalks of campus and you’ll see the occasional student clad in the unmistakable uniforms of the ‘80s and ‘90s. Big, blocky letters and logos embroidered into crewnecks; colorblock varsity jackets; old-school graphics on faded T-shirts; perhaps they’re sporting some white Reeboks—capture them on a Polaroid and you wouldn’t be able to distinguish them from an ‘80s yearbook. Not only is this fixation on fashion from the past evident from those who model it, but its surge in popularity can also be seen from the number of vintage resale shops that have popped up not only in college towns but all over the country. Similarly, apps like Instagram and Depop have become major avenues for shopping vintage, so much so that it’s become a full-time job for some resellers. There may be several reasons as to why styles
from decades ago have been resurrected in such an intense way. Perhaps, for some, it’s merely a matter of standing out from the masses. Maybe others are trying to be more environmentally responsible in the way they shop. Though, it could be said that the majority of this revitalization comes from kids who are fascinated by the simplicity of a time they’ll never get to experience. Those born after the turn of the century have grown up in an era that will likely be defined one day by the rapidity at which trends changed and how social media dictated those changes. When thinking back on an era like the ‘80s, most people will conjure up images of big hair, neon signs, and iconic musicians. In other words, a defining culture. Now, it seems that we live in a culture of confusion, where no one thing has more potential than another to stay, so it makes sense as to why some of us want to grip onto something static, something frozen in time.
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Living in a culture of confusion and oversaturation makes us want to grip onto something static, something frozen in time - something that never goes out of style.
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photographed by Audrey Osborn head stylist Alisha Ahmed styled by Katie Kinsella, Calvin Sung modeled by Bella Creasy, Katie Kinsella, Jillian Pullen, Quinn Smith, Calvin Sung layout by Skye McLaughlin, Jannica Seraypheap
While the fashion of today’s adolescents has seemed to come full circle, it’s undeniable that the school spirit displayed in the 80s and 90s never left. One of the most distinctive traits of the Big Ten schools is the diversity in their populationsthe massive campuses are home to an equally massive range of student backgrounds, passions, and beliefs. Though, the one thing that seems to draw them all together is the sports culture. Whether they could give a
play-by-play of a football match or have no idea what a “down” is, an immense amount of students at universities like IU will show up and show out with their school colors and highenergy on game day. Some may just be interested in the tailgate festivities, while others want to lose their voice in the stadiumbut no matter the case, there’s no doubt that game days bring the community together unlike any other event in just the same way they did forty years ago.
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Season Yearbook 2022 Winter Class
BELLA
MOST LIKELY TO BE THE NEXT DREW BARRYMORE
CALVIN
MOST LIKELY TO BE FASHIONABLY LATE
JILLIAN
MOST LIKELY TO BE DOING THEIR MAKEUP INSTEAD OF WORK
QUINN MOST LIKELY TO GRAFFITI BALLANTINE HALL
KATIE
MOST LIKELY TO KNOW THE TEA
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SIGN HERE
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Beauty is in the eye of the era
photographed by Mira Carlson head stylist Calvin Sung styled by Natalia Kwak, Grace Suiaung makeup by Alisha Ahmed, Sophia Newman modeled by Carmen Cancila, Gibson James layout by Skye McLaughlin, Drew Reed
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By Myah Garza
Beauty is in the eye of the era.
Throughout history, beauty standards have signaled membership within groups and distinct hierarchies that sustain dominant power structures. These standards are assumed to strictly express wealth and social stratification. By imitating what we consider “trending,” we seek social equality.
From the 1400s to the 1800s, women’s beauty standards reflected their husbands’ status. Plump, full figures displayed financial success. If a woman were thin, she would be deemed poor and unable to eat full, luxurious meals. The ideal woman’s body at that time was a round stomach, big breasts, and full hips. Fair, pale skin also indicated wealth, in that she didn’t have to labor away in the sun. Now, bronzed, tan skin is praised, flaunting leisure and the ability to vacation or afford regular trips to tanning salons.
Around 1837, corsets became the crave and cinched waists were in. As women’s fashion began to reflect the delicate, frivolous, and submissive stereotypes about them, light pastel colored clothing that inhibited movement were all the rage. Currently, renaissance corsets are making an uncomfortable comeback. These cycles repeat over and over. Our bodies and silhouettes become trends, and society changes our minds on what’s en vogue every decade.
In the 1990s, heroin chic was born. Abnormally thin, petite, small-chested, frail women were idealized. British model, Kate Moss, helped popularize this transition stating, “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels,” due in no small part to her teenage modeling success and the pressure to maintain her prepubescent figure. This quote, however, is resurfacing today, for the next wave of heroin chic is hitting us. A twenty three inch
waist and 34A bust is back in style after having a transformative period of body positivity and curves, promoted by celebrities like Lizzo and Selena Gomez in 2020. The icon of our generation, Kim Kardashian, famed for her curves and hourglass figure has even slimmed down with the recent trend’s debut, removing various implants and returning to something reminiscent of her naturally slim shape.
In 2010 eating disorders spiked, positively correlated to social media. The search for “thinspiration” was appearing on all social networks. “Thinspo” was and is still extremely popular on Tumblr, the microblogging and social networking website, along with other social platforms. Particular fashion trends shamed women into believing they needed society’s unrealistic body standards in order to pull off a look. On the surface, thinspiration is a secret community that shares
LET THEM EAT
CAKE
After an era of body positivity, western society has once again become obsessive over thinness and the social capital it provides.
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excessively skinny people in photos on social media as motivation to lose weight, but it is much more severe than that. Phrases such as “I beat obesity,” or “your stomach isn’t growling, it’s applauding” can be seen next to extremely thin and often white girls promoting eating disorders as lifestyle choices that take willpower and dedication as opposed to a mental disorder. “In their quest to support each other being thin, they provide tips on how to suppress hunger, hide missed periods, and keep stomach acid from affecting the teeth after vomiting,” (Thinspiration: The dangers of a pro-ANA/Pro-Mia Lifestyle 2016). It has been stylized to starve yourself.
Today, Pinterest boards are promoting “effortlessly chic” women that are dressed so simply that their skin and bones
are what we’re considering as fashionable. Class, race, and identity are concealed through fashion, yet made quite visceral. Thinness and the aesthetics that are entrenched in it are inextricably linked to the other vectors of conventional beauty: whiteness, classic femininity, and clear class privilege. As such, when we moved from a culture that embraced more body positivity and diversity of dress and aesthetic to the return of traditional femininity, what we considered acceptable and cool shifted too. Our aesthetic identities are fads, and classic femininity, currently disguised as “cleanliness,” is getting all the attention. The blueprint entails a sleek, slender, effortlessly put together woman that looks down for business, no matter what the occasion. The recurring theme is that their thinness and whiteness
makes them more appealing, and the look achievable. As the art and fashion historian Anne Hollander wrote in a New York Times article from 1977, “The look of actual human bodies obviously changes very little through history. But the look of ideal bodies changes a great deal all the time.” When it comes to the ideal body, it is a never ending chase. Those that don’t have the qualifying genetics or lifestyles shouldn’t be less suitable to exhibit a sense of style than those spending hundreds on fixing every roll and blemish. Instead of using our bodies to create fashion that portrays our perceived wealth and place on the social ladder, let us try to express our authentic selves through our clothing.
No more controlling aesthetics. Let’s make fashion fun again.
VICIOUS CIRCLES
By Katherine Pietrangelo
Hyperconsumerism has become much more prevalent in mainstream vocabulary in the last decade. Hyperconsumerism as a lifestyle has infiltrated societal norms through social media just as carbon monoxide poisons a home – so quickly and seamlessly that no one noticed it until it was almost too late.
Influencer
Hyperconsumerism has become much more prevalent in mainstream vocabulary in the last decade. Hyperconsumer ism as a lifestyle has infiltrated societal norms through social media just as carbon monoxide poisons a home – so quickly and seamlessly that no one noticed it until it was almost too late. Influencer marketing has exploded in the last few years especially, so people are constantly hearing about products they didn’t even know they needed, but now think they can’t live their lives to the fullest without this super cute Princess Polly set or these absolutely incredible Steve Madden boots. How is it possible that microtrends are played out so quickly that they can easily be recognized by specific points in time? The almost instantaneously replaceable trend cycles the fash ion industry has been experiencing in the last couple years is responsible. It seems as though, within the blink of an eye, pieces and aesthetics go from infiltrating feeds and appearing on influencers’ Amazon storefronts to falling out of trend and being criticized on Substack. What happened to the traditional 20 year trend cycle? Every one is consistently trying to stay on trend while also being a trendsetter; to do this, consumers feel as though they need to be constantly buying new clothes. This narrative is pushed by influencers on TikTok with daily videos on pieces they are loving right now and how they need to “run, don’t walk” to see this brand’s new collection. Hypercon sumer ism is not a lifestyle that is attainable, nor one that people should strive to attain. Not Okay, a film released in late July of this year, revolves around the wardrobe of social media influencers, and cos tume designer Sarah Laux styled Zoey Deutch’s character, the protagonist, in pieces and accessories that can be easily traced to viral trends from 2021 when the movie was filming. Laux describes Zoey’s character by saying that “[Dani] doesn’t necessarily even have good taste. She’s just a consumer…she just takes and takes and takes and then sheds it”. Laux’s styling for this film is the perfect depiction of how hyper consumerism is taking over the fashion industry; it is a time capsule for the mi crotrends in 2021 and is considered almost a period piece in that way, with one of her most icon ic outfits being a Shein argyle sweater set. Fast-fashion brand Shein just recently be came the largest fashion retailer in the world. This announcement was
marketing has exploded in the last few years especially, so people are constantly hearing about products they didn’t even know they needed, but now think they can’t live their lives to the fullest without this super cute Princess Polly set or these absolutely incredible Steve Madden boots.
How is it possible that microtrends are played out so quickly that they can easily be recognized by specific points in time? The almost instantaneously replaceable trend cycles the fashion industry has been experiencing in the last couple years is responsible. It seems as though within the blink of an eye, pieces and aesthetics go from infiltrating feeds and appearing on influencers’ Amazon storefronts to falling out of trend and being criticized on Substack.
What happened to the traditional 20-year trend
cycle? Everyone is consistently trying to stay on trend while also being a trendsetter. To do this, consumers feel as though they need to be constantly buying new clothes. This narrative is pushed by influencers on TikTok with daily videos on pieces they are loving right now and how they need to “run, don’t walk” to see this brand’s new collection. Hyperconsumerism is not a lifestyle that is attainable, nor one that people should strive to attain.
Not Okay, a film released in late July of this year, revolves around the wardrobe of social media influencers, and costume designer Sarah Laux styled Zoey Deutch’s character, the protagonist, in pieces and accessories that can be easily traced to viral trends from 2021 when the movie was filming. Laux describes Zoey’s character by saying that
a terrifying one for countless reasons, the first being the det rimental effects on the envi ron ment result ing from the prev alence of the fast fashion industry. 100 billion clothing items are made annually, and 92 million tons end up in landfills - the equivalent of one garbage truck full of clothes wasted every second. The industry accounts for up to 10% of global carbon dioxide output—more than internation al flights and shipping combined. 35% of the microplastics found in oceans can be traced to textiles, and the industry accounts for a fifth of the 300 million tons of plastic produced globally each year, as well as being responsible for 20% of global waste water. 2.6 million tons of returned clothes ended up in landfills in 2020 in the US alone. Summed up, fast fash ion brands are producing twice the amount of clothes today than in 2000 due to the intense hyperconsumerism within society. And Shein leads the fast fashion industry by a landslide. Statistics of Shein’s stock in 2021 compared to their own The Instagram account Environment by Impact reports that the brand lists somewhere between 2,000 and 10,000 items on its website daily. They make a test batch of 50-100 products for each item posted, and if the batch gains positive reviews, then it continues to be produced. If not, the design is on the chop ping block. Based on these statistics, 1 million products could be made in one day! Additionally, it is estimated that only about 6% of their designs remain on the website after 90 days. The only thing Shein has done right in some people’s eyes is its whopping $100 billion of revenue. However, considering all the alarming facts and the countless issues that the com pany is involved in, why would an organization that prides itself on its strong ethical teachings ever willingly choose to partner with such a company as Shein? The IU Kelley School of Business seems to think it logical. Much of the student body within the business school was astounded to see this partnership as it goes against so much of the core curricu
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Our society continuously promotes buying everything new, with the brand Shein at the top of the culprit list, but when will we realize how much harm these rapid trend cycles cause?
lum taught within the walls of Hodge Hall. Although Kelley has now taken the partnership out of the IUB official website, it does not disavow the fact that one of the nation’s top business schools made the conscious decision to partner with a major labor rights and environmental violator. While it may look good that they are collaborating with the largest and most profit able fashion retailer in the world, it reflects so negative ly on the university as a whole to be associated with such an unethical company.
“[Dani] doesn’t necessarily even have good taste. She’s just a consumer…she just takes and takes and takes and then sheds it” (Soo Hoo 2022). Laux’s styling for this film is the perfect depiction of how hyperconsumerism is taking over the fashion industry; it is a time capsule for the microtrends in 2021 and is considered almost a period piece in that way, with one of her most iconic outfits being a Shein argyle sweater set.
Unfortunately, this is not the end of Shein’s reign of terror. In order to keep up with their consumers’ insatiable need to keep up with the ever-changing trend cycles, Shein would never be able to use fair labor and production meth ods, and they don’t want to. Staying consistent with their unethical practices, the company severely exploits workers and practically runs their employees’ lives, all while not caring that they are violating China’s labor laws entirely. Channel 4, a U.K. broadcaster, conducted an undercover investigation and filmed inside two Shein supplier factories in Guangzhou. What was uncovered was astounding. At one factory, employ ees receive a base salary of 4,000 yuan per month — roughly $556 — to make 500 pieces of clothing per day, and their first month’s pay is withheld from them. At another location, workers received the equivalent of four cents per item. Across both, the employees work up to 18-hour days and were given only one day off a month. Additionally, women were found “washing their hair during lunch breaks, and workers were penalized two-thirds of their daily wage if they made a mis take on a clothing item” (Singh-Kurtz 2022). Shein and its business practices have become increasingly more alarming in the past few years, and will only continue to do so unless they are stopped.
Fast-fashion brand Shein just recently became the largest fashion retailer in the world. This announcement was a terrifying one for countless reasons, the first being the detrimental effects on the environment resulting from the prevalence of the fast fashion industry. 100 billion clothing items are made annually, and 92 million tons end up in landfills: the equivalent of one garbage truck full of clothes wasted every second. The industry accounts for
While hyperconsumerism is a problem mostly plagu ing consumers of fast fashion brands, it is an issue that can arise even when shopping sustainably and secondhand if it re mains popular to consistently consume and consume with no end in sight. Trends shift and change, but clothes are meant to be kept and sustained for years at a time, and to throw them to the wind for solely aesthetic purposes simply reinforce this phenomenon. Being aware of how much one actively buys and consumes is integral to helping remove ourselves from
this cycle.
up to 10% of global carbon dioxide output—more than international flights and shipping combined. Around 35% of the microplastics found in oceans can be traced to textiles, and the industry accounts for one fifth of the 300 million tons of plastic produced globally each year, as well as being responsible for 20% of global waste water. 2.6 million tons of returned clothes ended up in landfills in 2020 in the US alone. Fast fashion brands are essentially producing twice the amount of clothes today than in 2000 due to the intense hyperconsumerism within society. Shein leads the fast fashion industry by a landslide. The Instagram account Environment by Impact reports that the brand lists somewhere between 2,000 and 10,000 items on its website daily. They make a test batch of 50-100 products for each item posted, and if the batch gains positive reviews, then it continues to be produced. If not, the design is on the chopping block. Based on these statistics, 1 million products could be made in one day. As a result, it is estimated that only about 6% of their designs remain on the website after 90 days. Unfortunately, this is not the end of Shein’s reign of terror.
In order to keep up with their consumers’ insatiable need and ever-changing trend cycles, Shein would never be able to use fair labor and production methods, and they don’t want to. Staying consistent with their unethical practices, the company severely exploits workers and practically runs their employees’ lives, all while disregarding and violating China’s labor laws entirely. Channel 4, a U.K. broadcaster, conducted an undercover investigation and filmed inside two Shein supplier factories in Guangzhou. What was uncovered was astounding: at one factory, employees receive a base salary of 4,000 yuan per month — roughly $556 — to make
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500 pieces of clothing per day, and their first month’s pay is withheld from them. At another location, workers received the equivalent of four cents per item. Across both, the employees work up to 18-hour days and were given only one day off a month. Hyperconsumerist lifestyles necessitate that a business like Shein terrorizes workers to keep up with constantly shifting clothing styles, color schemes, and patterns, lest they lose potential profit.
While hyperconsumerism is a problem mostly plaguing consumers of fast fashion brands, it is an issue that can arise even when shopping sustainably and secondhand if it remains popular to consistently consume and consume with no end in sight. Popular second hand clothing stores like Goodwill and Plato’s Closet have largely been replicating the rapid turnover of fast fashion brands. People, often those of class positions that don’t necessitate it, flock just as much to secondhand stores as they do to fast fashion companies to ensure that they can keep up aesthetically in our public-facing world.
In the past few years, conceptually vintage clothing has been incredibly popular and items of that sort can be found at second hand stores; but those stores, created to reduce clothing waste and to offer accessible options to people who can’t always afford to buy brand new, are businesses too. They have hiked prices up at these stores as they grew in public favor, and are much more picky with
what clothing can be in stock at the store, so as to offer what’s in trend and turn a profit. But this leads to an increase in unnecessary clothing waste, in which clothing that isn’t trendy isn’t accepted and is instead thrown away, and people who need inexpensive, second hand clothing options are faced with increasingly higher prices.
Social media is largely oversaturated, and people turn to visual aesthetics to stand out from others, or to mark themselves as part of a specific community or niche. But interests change, and there is always more media and clothing and visuals to aspire to, and, as such, the idea of needing a ‘whole new wardrobe’ has become that much more literal. Seeking quality and longevity in clothing purchases has been left behind in favor of looking a particular way when it is socially profitable to do so. Trends shift and change, but clothes are meant to be kept and sustained for years at a time, and to throw them to the wind for solely aesthetic purposes simply reinforces this phenomenon. Being aware of how much one actively buys and consumes is integral to helping remove ourselves from this cycle. But more important than that is to separate oneself from the constant trend cycle turnover, from paying perpetual attention to what is hot and what is not, and basing our own value on how much we emulate that. Instead, in a fashion world with so many options available, it’s worth taking a few trend cycles’ worth of time to find what exactly works for you.
photographed by Klaire Rasche head stylist Julia Rusyniak styled by Aanjaneya Bagri, Carmen Cancila, Caitlyn Soegiantoro modeled by Geneva Williams layout by Francie McCormick, Lydia Yong
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STARS, LOVERS, AND FOOLS
By Erin Stafford
Our generation is rediscovering our lives and selves through the reemergence of tarot card imagery.
photographed by Ellie Woytek, Mohena Gupta head stylist Carmen Cancila styled by Aanjaneya Bagri, Elizabeth Lopez-Ruiz, Katie Kinsella, Taylor Stine modeled by Harleigh Drummond, Katherine Zeda, Lucas Hills layout by Olivia Childress, Naomi Grossman, Drew Reed
Spiritualists who prescribe to the world of occult practices have always been regarded as credulous. These practitioners are deemed naive and gullible in a popular culture that prides itself on beliefs rooted in religion and science. The otherworldliness of magic, sorcery, and astrology has been seen on and off as baseless for years.
The months of isolation following the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak provided
everyone with a great deal of time alone. While some chose this time to explore hobbies and develop interests, others worked to know themselves better. In an effort to relearn one’s innate self, a lot of people turned towards the art of divination. Divination is the occult process through which one can gain insight into a situation or future event by means of a ritualistic practice or supernatural method. Many diviners look for
information hidden in the stacks of tarot cards. Daily readings that peer into one’s future can even be seen as an act of self care. Through the use of tarot cards, a diviner can gain more insight into who they are, why they struggle, and what makes them tick. With a surge of tarot card readers practicing divination on platforms like TikTok and YouTube, one thing is certain: mysticism has gone mainstream.
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A complete tarot card deck has 78 cards total. A common deck is divided into two separate stacks: the major arcana cards and the minor arcana cards. The major arcana cards display a collection of 22 archetypes that represent the stages of life we all go through. The first card, The Fool, represents youth and purity. The last major arcana card represents The World, or the end of our life cycle. The cards
in between The Fool and The World are meant to signify the story of one’s journey through life. When a major arcana card is pulled during a tarot reading, it represents an overarching theme and nudges us to examine our relation to the card in the grand scheme of our journey through life. The minor arcana cards are divided into four suits: wands, cups, swords and pentacles. These cards describe the people, events, and
feelings we encounter on our own journey through life. Each suit connects to a different element of our metaphysical identity. TikTok creator cynthiaxtarot uses the social media app to provide users with in-depth tarot readings that apply specifically to earth, air, water and fire signs. She’ll focus on a specific group of people for each video and present a broad question for
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High Priestess
II
THE MAGICIAn
those viewers. In her reading, she’ll shuffle cards until she ejects three cards from the deck at random times. She then analyzes the meaning of the presented cards in relation to the question posed. In a similar fashion, YouTuber Pamela Georgel curates tarot card reading videos for the zodiac signs.
Aside from TikTok and YouTube, the allure of tarot cards is not lost upon consumers either. Tarot card imagery has become ubiquitous, as trends centered on occult
practices permeate mainstream media airwaves. It’s not rare to see a person with The Lovers tarot card tattooed on them, or with The Moon tarot card printed on a shirt. It’s easy — and even poetic to a certain degree — to relate the themes and images of these tarot cards back to our own identities. The Lovers card, for example, represents conscious connections and significant relationships. For someone with a lovers card tattoo, that person might view the tattoo as a symbol of their intent to engage
in purposeful relationships, devoid of deceit and insincerity.
Through both the practice and presentation of tarot cards, occultists and skeptics alike can mobilize the art of divination to feel closer to themselves in times of isolation and uncertainty. In an act of self care, tarot cards help practitioners develop insight into their past, present and future. Regardless of its presumed validity, a tarot card deck provides a sense of comfort for those who seek to learn more about themselves.
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The MOON
XVIII
THE SUn
XIX
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THE CHARIOT
VII
DEATH
XIII
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photo by Ellie Woytek