UN_FOLD Magazine Vol 2 by UN_FOLD Magazine

V_02

#WE ARE FASHION WE_ARE_FASHION brings you UN_FOLD Magazine â&#x20AC;&#x201C; an experiment for the fashion voices of tomorrow.

ISSN 2398-2713

Welcome to the second issue of UN_FOLD Magazine; our award winning publication â&#x20AC;&#x201C; all conceived, designed, written, photographed and styled by our very own Fashion Design and Communication Students here at the School of Art & Design, Liverpool John Moores University. In this issue, we have been exploring a variety of themes from identity, the digital media world, youth and popular culture, generation Y, trends, diversity to the environment. We are dedicated to exploring the creative world from every aspect possible; an adventure that we hope you will follow us on, unfolding the most inspirational characteristics of our world Amy Jackson Editor

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READING A PRINTED MAGAZINE

IS A SENSORY EXPERIENCE

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THE POWER OF

CAN INDEPENDENT PRINT MAGAZINES THRIVE IN A DIGITAL WORLD?

It has been said that in order for a print magazine to survive, it has to last at least five issues. This makes the magazine industry seem a somewhat risky game, yet if you look at any news-stand, the amount of titles on offer has never been greater. We’re currently seeing a rise in niche, independent magazines that are led by ideas, focused on design and unlike more established magazines, funded by readers rather than advertisements. There’s a certain appeal in owning, and even creating these types of magazines, but what are the factors that ensure independent magazines survive in a world obsessed with the digital? While most independent magazines favour print as their medium of choice, digital media is a major part of our world and magazines are using social media and website content as a cost-free way to market themselves. Many independent magazines are even introducing a digital version of their publication, in the hope that it will compliment sales by targeting those who like to view content on the go. In some aspects, magazines are becoming insignificant as people can access similar content through online blogs. Blogs are becoming increasingly more popular due to their ability to give ordinary people a fashion presence, allowing them to share their opinions or showcase their own creative work. Popular fashion blogger Garance Dore originally created her blog to showcase her own illustrations, and commented that the best thing about having an online presence is how easy it is to receive feedback, which she claims print is lacking.

Although viewing creative content digitally can often be the easier choice, we are still pining over copies of well designed, good quality print magazines. Think about the last time you read a physical magazine. Think about the feel of the paper, the way the pages looked, the smell of freshly printed ink. Reading a printed magazine is a sensory experience, whilst viewing the same editorial on an iPad screen feels less special, less honest and less real. As lovable as print magazines may be, unfortunately, they’re not always the most profitable route to take. Many creators of magazines use publishing as a creative hobby rather than a way to pay the bills, and end up left without any profit after printing costs. Instead they favour the luxury and collectable feel of a print publication you can hold in your hands and keep forever rather than throw away the next day, and enjoy the chance to showcase upcoming creative talent and unique content. While printed magazines may not always be profitable, that’s not to say there isn’t a huge demand for independent publications. One visit to any independent bookstore or magazine stockist and you’ll be spoilt for choice with an abundance of publications, all well designed with unique and exciting content. The experience of creating a magazine is also just as exciting as reading one. Here at UN_FOLD we’ve loved being able to use our creative talents in photography, design, illustration, writing and styling to contribute towards the creation of a publication we can cherish and take pride in. Though digital media and technology is continuously on the forefront of this generation, it’s safe to say that physical magazines will never die in the eyes of those who appreciate the power of print, and its sensory experience - Amy Jackson

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The Power of Print Sponsored by

Transclear Natural 112gsm

CONTENTS

WE_ARE_FASHION brings you UN_FOLD Magazine – an experiment for the fashion voices of tomorrow. 14 | Living in The Moment 18 | Reality Check 22 | Distorted Identity 24 | In Bloggers We Trust

26 | Britishness 46 | Blurred Lines 50 | The Good, The Bad and The-Self Objectification 52 | Gender Code

UN_FOLD Magazine allows our students to collaborate and contribute to something real, something tangible. It empowers them to gain ownership. They are our next generation of Art Directors, Designers, Copy Writers, Trend Forecasters, Stylists, Editors, Photographers, Communicators, Bloggers, Hash Taggers, Risk Takers, Curators, Researchers and much, much more. Our razor sharp contributors have crafted this magazine to be much more than just a collection of words and images – they have no interest in creating throw-away media. They want to make this magazine feel treasured, ending its days on your bookshelf or lying on your coffee table for months on end. So put down your tablet and read on Paul Owen Creative Director & Editor in Chief WE_ARE_FASHION & UN_FOLD Magazine

56 | Vinyl Revival 60 | White Wash 64 | Hang Me Up to Dry

Editor Amy Jackson Guest Editor Victoria Graham

120 | Publications

80 | Falling Apart

128 | Illustrated Catwalk

84 | Millennial Twenty Sixteen

132 | Dream On 136 | Under the Radar 140 | Mad About the Boy 144 | Past and Present

Liverpool John Mooresâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Fashion BA Hons programme is proud to present the second edition of UN_FOLD Magazine. We hope you find inspiration in this issue from the next generation of creative fashion designers and communicators. Fashion at Liverpool John Moores University is an established area, introduced to the Art School as early as 1936, and we are proud of our design heritage. Innovation is at the heart of our course, and the city of Liverpool is a key resource for our students to grow and prosper as creative and forward thinking individuals. Following on from the European City of Culture in 2008, the city has flourished to become a key destination for fashion and the visual arts. The Art School has direct links with arts organisations such as TATE Liverpool, Biennial, and FACT. Students are able to undertake local placements in the North West, as well as working in London, Europe, and beyond. Placements over the past year have included: The London Fashion Agency, J.W.Anderson, Jonathan Saunders, Markus Lupfer, Harvey Nichols, Shop Direct, Clio Peppiatt, THFKDLF, Missguided and Double Negative.

Our fashion course is known for its vibrancy and celebration of diversity in student work. For graduates to compete in the fashion sector, they must have belief in their own style, as well as having a broad understanding of how the industry works. The two pathways – Fashion Design and Fashion Communication – complement each other and students are able to work on several collaborative projects during their study. In Fashion Design, students work from concept to final garment construction, so that they understand the process of design as well as the practical application. Research is essential to innovation and we embed fashion studies to further our student’s individual interests. Holistically, this knowledge is empowering and allows our graduates to work across a wide range of the fashion industry from High Street to Couture. In Fashion Communication, our students work across the syllabus which includes branding, PR, marketing, photography and styling. With knowledge from location sourcing to final layout and editorial, they are able to offer specialist companies a whole package of transferable skills to work on a broad range of projects. We have a dedicated studio environment in our purpose built and RIBA award winning John Lennon Art School, where students are able to develop and explore new technologies as well as rediscovering traditional re-emerging crafts in print, textiles and embellishment. Our aim is to produce confident motivated graduates who can work as professionals and compete in a world-class arena

Illustration: Charlotte Allen

Lesley Peacock Programme Leader Fashion BA Hons Fashion Innovation and Realisation MA

LIVING IN THE MOMENT? Some may say that social media platforms are soul sucking, robbing people of their depth, taking away their personality and turning people into plastic demeanours. To what extent are we living in the moment? Has our identity been taken over by social media? These are some of the questions that have started to arise throughout the younger generation. Social media platforms such as Instagram have become an obsessive tool that people use to create an idealised portrayal of their lives and the world around them. Cropping changes everything. We show our audiences life in a square frame, only showing them what we want them to see, followed by a filter and other editing techniques. When in reality, this perfectly framed subject is more than likely surrounded by mess and clutter. This creates a fake, fantasy world that other people aspire to and want to live in, but simply cannot.

HEFE INKWELL X - P R O II NORMAL 14 |

We are now so engrossed within 21st century technology and social networking, that from the moment we wake up in the morning, the first thing most of us do is look at our phones for notifications. It is now estimated that there are approximately 400 million active Instagram users each month, which is a staggering increase from the 150 million in September 2013. We are aimlessly admiring the lives of others or using the channel as a platform to exploit ourselves, but it is becoming too entwined within our lives that we are forgetting how to function outside of the fantasy world. It is at this point that people feel like they have to show the world how much they need their approval and in reality, it can also affect our self-esteem. Getting zero likes on a photo one may post of themselves may lower their self-esteem, as theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not receiving the approval from others. In contrast, getting 1000 likes on the same photograph may actually boost self-esteem as it is receiving attention and approval from the audience which leaves the person satisfied that the image has been â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;successfulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Issues aside, people are now becoming aware of the power that social media holds and how it is destroying the way we function.

MOON REYES JUNO AMARO

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An Australian teenager with more than 612,000 Instagram followers radically rewrote the captions on her Instagram posts with descriptions of the truth behind the image, rather than the ‘contrived perfection’. Essena O’Neill, 18, said she was able to make an income from marketing products to her followers on Instagram and became consumed by it, which she hated. After taking a step back out of this manipulated world she came to the realisation of what it had done to her and how it is damaging others, which is why she decided to ‘quit’ social media and is now urging others to follow her lead. It’s true that social media can be damaging, not only to yourself but to others too. You are either the consumer or being consumed. Or, on the rare occasion, neither, staying sane and keeping out of this manipulated world. However, because of the mass usage and the positive effects it may have on marketing, this issue is going to be a neverending one – Gabrielle Davies

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Collection: Georgina Dunn Photography: Tilly Dawson

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If you spend just two hours a day on social media, that's equivalent to a month of your year just looking into a screen. 18 |

REALITY

CHECK

Social media is changing the way we communicate and the way we are perceived, both positively and negatively. Every time you post a photo, or update your status, you are contributing to your own digital footprint and personal brand. In this technological age, social media has become a primary gateway to connect with friends and the world around us as part of our daily ritual. Yet what often begins as a harmless virtual habit for some can fast track into a damaging, narcissism-fueled addiction, which impacts negatively upon our self-worth and the way we perceive others. Sherrie Campbell PhD, is a veteran licensed Psychologist. She says: “When we look to social media, we end up comparing ourselves to what we see which can lower our self-esteem. On social media, everyone’s life looks perfect but you’re only seeing a snapshot of reality. We can be whoever we want to be in social media and if we take what we see literally then it’s possible that we can feel we are falling short in life”. Social media has typically caused some girls to strive for a ‘thin ideal’, and some boys to seek an unrealistically muscular physique. Experts are only just beginning to look at the effects that social media websites have on body image and selfesteem. Magazines and television are often blamed for portraying an ideal body image that causes people to question their looks and lose confidence in themselves. But what about the role social media plays in moulding attitudes to the way we look? Social media networks are the primary way a young person communicates, and is their main channel to the outside world. It’s not just the exposure to these images that is damaging; it is our interaction with them. The acute focus on physical attributes may be even more dangerous on social media than on traditional media, because participants in social media are people we know. Social media can be perceived as an endless museum of contrived

images and edited clips ranked against each other. A system based on social approval, likes, validation in views and success in followers. Kim Stolz book ‘Unfriending My Ex: And Other Things I’ll Never Do’ cites a study that found “college students are 40% less empathetic than they were 30 years ago, thanks to on-screen interactions that make it easier to say mean things and act before considering the consequences of our actions.” The fascination with celebrities, their bodies, clothes and appearance has all increased the pressure to be portrayed as ‘perfect’ online. Individuals seek to establish their own identities. Young people, whose bodies are growing and changing compare themselves to the images that they are bombarded with, and feel that it is their fault that their bodies compare so unfavourably. Social media has become ingrained into almost every area of our life. With the rise in numbers and daily connectivity it is consuming our younger generation every day. The impact that social media has had in evolving and educating human lives is undeniable, but the fashion industry has the power to set the cultural ball rolling in terms of a positive outlook on body image. Those pioneering diversity in fashion such as Caryn Franklin with the ‘All Walks’ campaign, to normalise a broader range of bodies in all cultures throughout society are fighting this ideal body image promoted on social media. Change is evident, it will only help our self-esteem in the long run, but it is only we as social media consumers that can change our lack of self-worth and become better, productive people of the 21st century – Hannah Sinclair

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Hannah Sinclair

O R

Amy Marsden

We are living in the age of social media. It dominates our lives whether it be consciously or subconsciously. Nearly 2.1 billion people have social media accounts, and 3.65 billion mobile users have access to the internet via social media. ‘Instagram famous’ has become a common phrase among social media users, seeing people who share media content gaining likes and followers and essentially gaining fame from a social media platform. Social media influences the masses in a way that was only previously done by mass media companies, but is it healthy? Is it even real, or is it all for ‘likes’? In the short amount of time social media has been around, it has never stopped evolving, and likely never will. Five years ago, social media was an additional tool in communicating, now it could be said that it is a tool to ‘show-off’ and display aspects of the life you wish you had, rather than the life you actually have. Social media allows for people to narcissistically compete with one another for who has the better life, fashion sense, friends, holidays and so on. Instead of 17 year olds posting images of their lunch, they are now posting images of their surgically enhanced lips. Pre-adolescence is a precarious time in everyone’s life, in which you’re trying to establish who you are as a person, and your relationships with others, and social interactions are an essential part of the way in which we do this. With the addition of online social media outlets, this can become intensified. Each post leaves a footprint online which is open to interpretation; our social media accounts are the shop window into our lives. Dove conducted a survey into the effects of social media on young women, they discovered that: “one in four young women have deleted a photo on Instagram if it hasn’t received enough likes, and girls with low body confidence are three times more likely to say that social networks make them feel worse about themselves.” But surely, when you stop and think about it, it is just a part of life, a part of growing up and something that the majority of us leave behind as we get older and learn how to handle situations better. We’ve all been through it, there is usually a point in your life where you are craving social acceptance, changing our hairstyles, getting a piercing simply because of peer pressure, and that’s okay - because it’s your journey into finding out who you are – Chloe Wetherall

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#TRUST (*)

IN BLOGGERS WE TRUST

CAN WE TRUST BLOGGERS REVIEWS OF PRODUCTS?

RUST C/O

Anyone can be a blogger. With well-known bloggers earning millions each year, it is no wonder it has become an attractive career. Fashion is one of the most popular industries when it comes to blogging, with many finding ‘fame’ and becoming used by major fashion brands and houses. Fashion blogs can play a vital role in fashion by communicating, promoting and driving trends, so it’s no wonder brands have now recognised bloggers as a form of advertising within a virtual community. Due to this, many fashion bloggers now write posts focusing specifically on products from brands. This is where lines can become blurred. How reliable can the information about the product be if the blogger is in some way receiving

an incentive? Brands are more likely to choose a blogger who has a high amount of followers rather than a blogger who isn’t that well-known. There are a few fashion bloggers who before agreeing to write a post for a brand, have stated that if they believe the product isn’t good quality, as described, then they will in fact write a negative blog post about the product. Although honest, this could also cause brands to not want to work with them in the future. We spoke with blogger Allie Davies, from tie-dye-eyes who revealed that some bloggers will even send back products that they don’t like rather than write a post about it, as they don’t want to write a bad review, but also don’t want to lie to their followers.

#TRUST

#SPON How long have you been blogging? Since August 2012 Have you ever been approached by brands to write a post for them? Yes, I have been approached by Boohoo, Joules, Bank, Get The Label, Liverpool One, Penguin Books, New Look and Warehouse are the most recent brands that have contacted me. Did you receive any form of an incentive? For most of my posts I am given a sample to keep, which I always get to pick out myself. Although sometimes I’m paid around £30 because I only have a small following. I used to work for free but I realised quickly that I was being taken advantage of. Do you feel you gave a 100% honest review? I always try to be honest, because I want my readers to be able to trust me, but I would hesitate to write a bad review, because I like my blog to be a positive place. If a product was shockingly bad I would probably get in touch with their PR team and tell them any issues before publishing. How do you show you are sponsored? I show any sponsored posts with an asterisk on the post, which is explained in my disclaimer. Do you think all blogs can be seen as reliable sources of information? Fashion blogs definitely cannot always be reliable, there are a lot of bloggers out there who just want more freebies and believe they’ll get that by sucking up to brands, and an awful lot will sell their content to the highest bidder. However on the whole I would say blogs are more reliable than magazines, which are manipulated. Maybe social media is the most honest platform?

Do you see blogging as a career option? I personally do not want to blog for a living because it can be quite isolating, and I’m studying which isn’t completely necessary for blogging, but I would consider it as a backup option. I wouldn’t say it’s easy money but most people could do it with some persistence. Do you think bloggers feel pressured to give good reviews if they are being paid, or receiving an incentive for the post? Definitely it is like working with a friend and not wanting to upset them. Unless there’s a major issue, most bloggers will be generally positive in their posts just for the sake of being nice, because at the end of the day people prefer positivity. However there are many bloggers out there who will give a good review for the product, even if they believe that the product is in some way substandard. Whether this be because they feel somewhat obliged to give the product a good review because they have received an incentive, or because they fear a bad post relating to a well known brand could tarnish their blog and success. How can we as readers recognise if a blogger can be trusted or not? It is incredibly difficult and sometimes impossible. If a bloggers every post includes a sponsored product or an amazing experience then I think we can clearly see they are being paid for their blogging, however we can not determine they are not trustworthy based purely on this fact. We cannot see if they have turned down other brands which may not fit there blog style. Nearly all bloggers now have a disclaimer page. This shows whether or not they accept sponsorship, and states that posts are their ‘100% honest opinion’, this we also cannot prove to be true nor untrue. But we as readers and followers can create our own opinion as to whether we believe a blog to be trustworthy or not – Rebecca Roberts

#AD (*)

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A lot has happened since we launched UN_FOLD Magazine back in June 2015. We’ve witnessed an amplitude of events within the world of art, politics, crime and popular culture. We’ve seen everything from the dramatic, sobering, entertaining, satisfying to the incredible, for Britain. But what has it meant for fashion? Fashion has always upheld it’s right to express it’s viewpoint. This year, we took this idea further with a theme of 21st Century Britishness for our Youth Culture section. This year we asked our final year Fashion Communication students what exactly it meant to them to be part of 21st Century Britain, what British-ness meant to them (if anything at all). Could they explain it? Did they even feel part of it? They explored topics from sub-cultural groups, diversity, identity, equality, freedom, gender, sexuality, nostalgia, stereotypes, youth, social spaces and more. Over the next few pages they present exactly what they feel is ‘great’ about Britain – Paul Owen

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B R I T I S H N E S S

Brogan-Amie Clephan

W H A T B R I T A I N W I T N E S S E D T H I S Y E A R Our industry is constantly changing, and increasingly it plays a significant role in our society and culture – but you’ll be please to know, Britain is holding its’ own.

Designer of the Year British Fashion Designer of the Year for both menswear and womenswear was awarded to J.W.Anderson. He hit the headlines for streaming his Spring/Summer 2016 collection live on Grindr, at London Collections: Men. That’s right, if you didn’t know already, the gay hook-up app exclusively hosted the designer’s menswear show. We salute him. Skinny The black skinny jean, which has dominated our world has finally been replaced by the ripped style of the 90’s, and now we are wearing blue flares bringing the 70’s back. Silver rinse One of the biggest hair trends of the past year has been silver and grey locks; tell your granny she’s a fashionista! The Burkini Who would have thought it, this year’s object of interest is the burkini, a full-body swimming suit launched by M&S. Empowerment or something completely different? Model behaviour It’s official, iconic faces of British fashion Kate Moss and Cara Delevingne leave Storm model agency.

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Collaboration We continue to see the Fashion and Music industries collaborate, with projects between Adidas and Kanye West continuing to cause debate – Yeezy fever is here (again). Living Wage In retail, if you follow politics, April 1st marked the time where all employers in the UK must pay staff aged 25 or over the new national living wage of £7.20/hour, and in October the government introduced a mandatory 5p charge for carrier bags in the hope of reducing landfill. New icons In July we christened a fashion icon in the making, Princess Charlotte. A Century of style Vogue makes it’s 100th birthday this year, celebrating with an unforgettable exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. Celebration If you were lucky enough you will have caught Savage Beauty exhibition and seen a celebration of one of the most extraordinary creative talents Britain has ever produced, Alexander McQueen.

Amy Elisabeth Segar

Katie Owens

diversity independence freedom discord gender sexuality revolution culture youth tribes nostalgia

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Amy Jackson

A N D

H E R E

I N

L I V E R P O O L

Assemble Assemble was awarded The Turner Prize arguably Europeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most prestigious contemporary visual art award, for their collaboration with the residents of Granby Four Streets.

Rest-in-Peace We mourned the death of Cilla Black, our very own style icon, and David Bowie whose career spanned more than half a century and whose influence transcended music, fashion and sexuality. RIP. x Tracksuits As the tracksuit capital of Britain, we were ecstatic to see Chloe and Loeweâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tracksuits hit catwalk shows for the Spring/Summer 2016. Who said sportswear wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t fashionable!

Emily Colley

Verity Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Brien

Brogan-Amie Clephan

Sam Nelson

Brogan-Amie Clephan

Katie Owens

Gabrielle Davies

Shanelle Barrett-Simpson

// OUR STUDIO CULTURE IS FOCUSED ON CREATIN AND CREATIVE ENVIRONMENT WHERE STUDEN OFTEN INVOLVE WORKING COLLABORATIVELY HAND EXPERIENCE IS VITAL, IT HIGHLIGHTS TH FROM MEETING CLIENT DEADLINES, PRESENT MANAGING OTHER ARTISTS AND DESIGNERS. CR SKILLS OFTEN NOT ALWAYS SEEN IN THE TRADIT COMMUNICATION, ADAPTABILITY, PROBLEM SOLVI LEADERSHIP, AS WELL AS BEING CREATIVE AND W THE LEARNING PROCESS AND PREPARES STUDE JOURNAL / ECHO LIVERPOOL / RESEARCH & AN BURBERRY / PRESENTATION / ALEXANDER MCQU COLLABORATION / LIVERPOOL ONE / TEAM BUILD KATRANTZOU / CRITICAL AWARENESS / MOTIVATI VON FURSTENBERG / NIKE / ASOS / MARKS & SPENC / INDUSTRY READY / THE LONDON FASHION AG PRODUCTION / NEXT / TOPSHOP / VISUALISATION / NICHOLS / OASIS / SWITCHED MAGAZINE / GOL WHISTLE BLOWER / CRICKET / ANGHARAD OWEN / KIRSTY DOYLE / DECISION MAKING / SHOP DIRE NO WAVE MAGAZINE / LIVERPOOL FASHION WEE PROFESSIONALISM / KAREN MILLEN / JONATHAN S MAXX / RARE LONDON / FLEXIBILITY / THINK PR / THE / KOOKY STUDIOS / RESURRECTION / VERY / NEW / WHISTLES / CLIO PEPPIATT / J.W.ANDERSON /

NG AN INDUSTRY ATMOSPHERE. A PROFESSIONAL NTS WILL ALWAYS BE CHALLENGED. PROJECTS MIMICKING INDUSTRY PRACTICES. THIS FIRST HE EXPECTATIONS OF A COMMERCIAL WORLD, TING IDEAS, AND TALKING TO SUPPLIERS, TO RITICALLY, THIS PROCESS BUILDS ON THE SOFT TIONAL TEACHING ENVIRONMENTS; TEAMWORK, ING, TIME MANAGEMENT, ATTITUDE, CONFIDENCE, WORKING UNDER PRESSURE. THIS ACCELERATES ENTS FOR THE REAL WORLD. // THE ESSENTIAL NALYSIS / TATE LIVERPOOL / RESPONSIBILITY / UEEN / WORKING WITH CLIENTS / BOOHOO.COM / DING / PETER PILOTTO / IRIS VAN HERPEN / MARY ION / DEBENHAMS / PORTFOLIO BUILDING / DIANE CER / PREEN / REGATTA / TED BAKER / WAREHOUSE GENCY / THE NORTH WEST FASHION FESTIVAL / EXPOSURE / STAMP PRESS / HOLLISTER / HARVEY LDIE LONDON / NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES / N / CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT / INSPO MAGAZINE ECT / TREASURE DESIGN / ZARA / MISSGUIDED / EK / STRATEGIC THINKING / DOUBLE NEGATIVE / SAUNDERS / DR MARTENS / CATHERINE PRICE / TK E PITCHING PROCESS / MATALAN / INDEPENDENCE W LOOK / MARKUS LUPFER / ZEKARYAS SOLOMON EXPERIMENTATION / UNA RODDEN / THFKDLF /

Men and women’s clothing these days is separated by a line that is barely perceptible. With women joining the menswear runway, and men’s trends taking a feminine turn, the fashion world is defying gender boundaries like never before. It’s not complicated really, just start with the question, ‘would a man really want to wear this? Recently designers have been considering this sense of gender blurring in fashion: Hood by Air originator Shayne Oliver recently played with the idea of unfamiliarity. Reports noted: ‘Figure-blurring pantyhose masks with overstressed facial features, male models clear’. To put it more exactly it was a blurred sort of coverage with a dynamic exploration of gendered power. Although gender blurring might just be a passing trend in fashion, the movement causing it certainly is not. In today’s society gender non-conformity represents a movement away from what is traditionally considered masculine and feminine. The blurring between the sexes is a biological outgrowth of a changing attitude in society as a whole, almost a movement into the often misjudged shades of grey. The lines between disciplines keep becoming less distinguishable, with originators attempting to obliterate the barriers between clothes that are designed for males, versus those designed for females. Prada’s recent menswear collection played around with the various relationships that could occur between the way men and women can, or would dress. The continuous cross over between menswear and womenswear is a topic that has fascinated Miuccia Prada throughout her career, and the blurring of lines has always been a touchtone in her past. Twenty-one menswear looks and twenty-one womenswear pre collections were woven together, a play on matte and shiny fabrics were used to give these minimal designs more definition. But seeing as Prada put some of the women in pieces that could just as easily have come from a man’s wardrobe, there was a sense that it was almost impossible to spot where the menswear ended and the womenswear began. This approach is not only a move away from gender distinctions but also a rejection of so called ‘trends’, and meaningless change in fashion. Genderless clothes feel like a worthwhile investment. This really isn’t about gender, sexuality or culture, fashion can’t change those things. Ultimately it’s about cool fashion that doesn’t conform to anybody’s rules – Amy Marsden

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Collection: Megan Harvey Photography: Hannah Sinclair | 47

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GOOD BAD SELF-OBJECTIFICATION THE

THE

AND THE

Female hip hop artists from past and present all fall perfectly into The Good, The Bad, and The Self Objectified. Over the decades, the music industry has become more visual than ever through music videos and social media. The media gives musicians an outlet not only to express their musical style, but personal style also. Looking back from 2016 we have seen it all: positive, negative, feminist, empowered and exploitative portrayals of women in the music industry. The lyrical beauties of Rap at times can represent a double standard, lyrically calling fellow females ‘bitches’ and ‘hoes’, tarnishing empowered female rap artists representation in the music industry and mass culture. Female artists, no matter their status - The Good, The Bad and The Self Objectified - are giving male rappers a run for their money. Male rappers have had to watch their backs, or pay homage to the Queens of Rap. THE GOOD

THE BAD

THE SELF OBJECTIFICATION

The Good are the women in the rap industry that critique double standards, and deny the exploitative and objectified image of women portrayed by men? The Good create positive lyrics and vibes about female strength, love and African American society. Their lyrics and sense of personal style walk hand in hand with their love of African American dress, and they embrace their sense of self-hood and heritage with pride. However sometimes these female rappers dress sense can be portrayed as androgynous, creating a sense of strength and breaking the boundaries and gender restrictions placed on women by society. The Good teach us you don’t have to be overtly feminine to be a successful female in the rap industry.

The Bad leave little to the imagination, and lack a sense of responsibility for the fans that love them. The vulgar sexually charged explicit content does not just derive from their spoken words, but reflects again in their style of dress. The Bad may prefer the term ‘bad bitches’, and a style of dress that equally reflects their sassy attitude. But these women can be looked upon as a powerhouse as they are not afraid to speak truths, and will gladly show that their gender doesn’t degrade them in the rap industry, but makes them just as strong.

The Self-Objectified, are they good or bad? Arguably almost all female artists objectify themselves in some way, half naked music videos, sexually explicit content and more. Women can be just as guilty as men when it comes to objectifying women, modern culture deems female nudity appealing, and sex sells! The objectification is the basis of the career, the persona, and the brands they represent to create a sense of personal image. Until society changes its preoccupations and obsessive relationship with female nudity, selfobjectification will always be a part of life for women in the music industry – Shanelle Barrett-Simpson

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GENDER 1

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In today’s society, there seems to be a need to be packaged into a vacuum sealed shiny gender box and given a specific set of gender rules. We are pre-assigned our 1s and our 0s, or if you like, our male and our female identities at birth and those who

chose to wander will face life-long critique.

Non-binary is an umbrella term used to define people who don’t

fall into the category of ‘gender binary’. Binary refers to anyone who identifies solely with the gender they were assigned at birth, i.e. biologically male or biologically female. People in the nonbinary category may: be androgynous, identify as in-between gender or ‘inter-gender’, not identify with a gender at all – known as ‘agender’ or be ‘gender fluid’ and experience periods of both male and female identity. To be non-binary is to oppose the set male or female roles of gender, meaning anyone who does not solely identify as their biological sex. Much

the

debate

‘bisexual

erasure’,

there

resistance against raising awareness for non-binary, with

the opposing argument often being that non-binary is not

real or a ‘fad’. This type of social erasure continues to disallow growth or change within communities of people by

attempting to invalidate every person who chooses to defy

binary genders ° – Emily Colley

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404 NO GENDER FOUND

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Vinyl Revival

Manual love in a digital age Over the past few years, with the accessibility of music becoming more and more fruitful with technological progression, there has been a revival of old forms of media. The most substantial growth in popularity is within vinyl sales and the independent music store. With platforms such as Spotify and iTunes leading the market in digital downloads, there are many music enthusiasts that have turned, or even returned to an arguably more authentic manner of music collection. In the post-war period leading up to the invention of CD-Roms in 1982, record stores were a hub of activity for youth culture. The consumption of mass media such as popular music was a social event, from which many subcultures thrived. As technology evolved and the new-age glamour of the 80s rolled around CDs, many decided to ditch their record collection and convert over.

As with a lot of trends in the new century, the vintage appeal of record collecting continues to intrigue not only new youth cultures but also existing fans of the material. With capitalism rising and independent stores being closed down in place of shiny chains, the revival of vinyl has given back life to many independent retailers. This has only been encouraged by stores such as Urban Outfitters and Zavvi following suit and stocking new vinyl pressings from the nostalgic to modern bands. In the past few years there have been notorious new pressings in vinyl including the hugely popular Arctic Monkeys album, “AM” and the identifiable album art. It could be argued that the revival of vinyl is just following suit of many trends of this decade; in that we are constantly recycling and reappropriating past interests.

But the trend isn’t just inclusive to hipsters. It has been reported that many avid record collectors from the past have just continued where they left off. The growth in appeal has been aided by several events that has signal boosted the trend, such as “Record Store Day” which is held in over 200 stores across the country on the third Saturday in April on an annual basis. There is also room for argument that the return to vinyl is a reaction to mass-capitalism and consumption. With every high street beginning to look the same, with the same stores and the same produce; the independent store overall has picked up, providing more individual and unique products to buy. The question remains whether this trend will stand or subside as another takes it’s place. To the music community though, this may not be a step backwards but a step forward. – Emily Colley

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Collection: Beth Forrester Photography: Emily Colley

Is the fashion industry still racist? The debate on the lack of diversity in the fashion industry has been a long one. In recent years we have seen great movements within the industry such as Neelam Gill taking to the runway as Burberry’s first Indian model, Puerto Rican supermodel Joan Smalls securing high profile covers and high fashion campaigns around the world, and fashion retail giant H&M featuring it’s first hijabi model, Mariah Idrissi, but is it enough? The spending power of non-white ethnic groups in the UK is £40 billion, so why is the industry not taking note and capitalising on this? Glamour magazine editor Jo Elvin stated back in 2014 that the choice of cover star has ‘nothing to do with race’, it’s just that the stars are not ‘big’ enough to sell the magazine. It was revealed that in the past decade Glamour have produced close to 130 issues with 75 cover stars, yet only nine of these stars have been from the Black and Minority Ethnic community. Black British ‘model of the moment’ Jourdan Dunn was praised this year for securing a solo cover on British Vogue. The reason people were so happy to see this was because this is the first time in twelve years this has happened, the last being Naomi Campbell in 2002. How is it possible for British Vogue to produce 146 issues in twelve years and not feature a stand alone black model?

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Print: Gabrielle Davies

On the other hand magazines such as Italian Vogue have been seen to be taking a stand against this imbalance with the July 2008 ‘all black’ issue, featuring only black models such as Tyra Banks and Alek Wek. This went on to be the most popular issue ever sold and had to be reprinted twice because of such high demand. Although this is great, the industry should be representing all types of beauty ideals all the time, not just once a year; as the success of the ‘all black Vogue’ is the perfect example that black models can sell. The sad fact is that the industry has become worse. At the most recent shows in London, Paris, New York and Milan, showcasing designs for Spring/Summer 2016, 79.4% of the models were white, and so the blame game begins. Casting agents say that designers will send out information such as ‘no black girls or ethnics’ prior to a casting call, yet designers blame the agencies for not having enough diverse models on their books. It’s hard for upcoming fashion professionals of colour to aspire to be successful in an industry which teaches them that they do not fit into their beauty ideals. Until the industry takes responsibility for it’s actions and makes changes, it’s hard to tell whether or not we will ever bridge this gap of imbalance. – Nicole Gray

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Fashion takes the silver medal in the running for the world’s most damaging industry, and we are working relentlessly to make sure we take that top spot on the podium. Leading fashion environmentalists Lucy Siegle and Livia Firth have both reported that fashion is beaten only by the oil and gas industry; a true and quite frankly, frightening fact. There seems to be no soap powder too strong and no wash too high. We are draining lakes to fill our machines and putting nothing back but poison.

Almost 70,000 tonnes of CO2 escape into the atmosphere every year in the UK due to our nasty habit of tumble drying. This is the same as 20,000 return flights from London to New York every week, whereas drying on a line produces zero CO2. We may not have the weather here in the UK to quickly dry our clothing all year round, but you can easily make a difference by simply hanging clothes inside with a dehumidifier, resulting in much less CO2 and energy being used than the average dryer. The current demand for fast fashion may allow the consumer to have that party dress for the weekend, but it also allows them to chuck it in land fill months later, after only one wear. The end of the garments life is imminent before it’s even begun. The party dress will suffer an unnecessary wash after one wear, consuming energy and sending detergent pollutants back into the water stream. Sopping wet, it will then go into the dryer where it pollutes the air we breathe at the hands of the owner. Crisp, dry and slighter weaker than before, the cheap synthetic fabric will tear before it’s next wear and join the 10,000 strong tribe of other garments that also didn’t make it in the same ten minutes. The BBC recently had Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall pondering about our wasteful habits, covering everything from food to fashion, and the findings were shocking. He found that the UK alone throws away £150,000,000 worth of clothing each year; when did we become so wasteful? We are all guilty of binning a top because the button broke or throwing away trousers because the zip busted. Repairing a viscose blouse that cost a mere £8 seems a waste of time and effort when you can replace it for less than a cinema ticket. Clothes are no longer built to last and in turn we have lost our creativity and resourcefulness. We have 40 times more clothing than 30 years ago, and with that monumental increase comes more maintenance and more waste. We are not informed to the extent we need to be, and a lot of fabrics don’t need the after-care they receive. Wool for example, is naturally self cleaning and will on most occasions only need to be aired outside for a couple of hours, but this isn’t a well known fact, so we continue to wash out the impurities. If consumer education is more of a priority for companies, then maybe we would be informed enough to change our habits. One brand leading the way would be H&M, who’s consciousness movement suggest lower washing temperatures and a recycling in store programme. If all companies informed us like this, then maybe there’s hope for us after all. We may be stuck in this fast fashion fiasco, but hopefully there is a light at the end of the tunnel. All we need to do is make small changes in our habits and we are on our way to plastering up the damage we have already caused. – Shannon Tran

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I T ’ S A N I

J U S T P P L E

Since 1936 men’s bare chests have been accepted as the norm. 80 years later women fight for same right. You may have heard about the gender equality movement that is ‘Free The Nipple.’ It has become a culture mass movement that’s sparked a national voice for men and women who want change in our modern society. #FreeTheNipple.com says; influencers such as Miley Cyrus, Liv Tyler, and Lena Dunham have shown public support which garnered international press and created a viral #FreeTheNipple campaign.

The campaign has highlighted the gender equality movement and has taken the Internet by storm. Recently, via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, it has generated many reactions and questions relating to the different sex stereotypes we see in today’s world. On December 12th 2015, the campaign released a feature length documentary style film highlighting the road of #FreeTheNipple so far. Two areolas are what commonly connect men and women’s bodies. So the question remains, ‘why has one been shamed, censored, and sexually con-notated and the other is as normal to our culture as bare feet?’ The movement specifically points out everyday occasions that a woman might bare her breasts to the world. Emphasizing the main point that: ‘It’s not about whether a woman should or should not; it is about whether she has the right to choose.’ The beauty and fashion industry is often scrutinised for using women and 66 |

hyper sexualising their bodies to sell products. By creating market strategies such as this, it is coaching men to objectify women by only using the feminine body parts to create money. Founder of #FreeTheNipple, Lina Esco, asserts that “the movement does not advocate women being bare-chested at all times, its goal is simply to change public perception of women’s bodies and to highlight the blatant gender inequality.” She keeps the culture movement clear in the goals behind the protests and what this could do for future generations of women. Adam Riva says: “for men of the 1930s, going shirtless in public was as shocking a sight as it is for women today. It was not until 4 men defiantly strutted through Coney Island bare-chested to bring attention to the issue that public opinion quickly shifted. The men were fined $1 each for public indecency.”

Illustration: Holly Scott

Now in the 21st century, we should be breaking free from the shackles of society’s norms. Change is evident as in 2015 the debate about exposed nipples intensifies: the search term ‘#FreeTheNipple’ surpassed phrases like ‘equal pay’ and ‘gender equality’ in terms of interest, according to Google trends. So the question remains, can the #FreeTheNipple campaign truly change equal gender rights for women of the next generation? Only time will tell…

What is your initial impression of the #FreeTheNipple campaign? I understand the basic point, that women should be able to show their bodies to the extent that men do. I think that is great, however I’m not really sure that’s the best way to do it, given that when it comes to our western culture, we already sexualise breasts to a great degree compared to other places in the world. Society has to accept it as a whole for it to be a successful campaign. I do feel #FreeTheNipple is helping people to accept change more and I hope it will help both men and woman gender rights across the world.

Can the movement encourage the necessary cultural change for gender equality to become a reality? There’s still a lot of gender inequality, but I feel it can be distracting us from the real issues that exist in terms of parental leave issues, wage inequality etc. It’ll be interesting what the westernized culture makes of it. In the past hundred years men’s gender roles have not evolved or altered to the same extent that women’s have. There’s also been an increase in the encouragement of boys to be hypermasculine, as well as young girls to be hyper sexualised. We focus a lot of individual change of women, but I do think we need to focus on changing men’s roles in the 21st century too.

Do you think the movement will have an effect on the next generation? Yes, of course. Technology is one of the most talked about things in the modern world to effect the next generation. In my opinion phones and social media desensitize young people and eventually this will have an impact on self-esteem. I think #freethenipple is great for embracing what you are born with. Not just breasts or no breasts, male or female, black or white, we need to understand different cultures and that it is OK to be who you are, as long as we are all treated the same and with no discrimination. This is something that #FreeTheNipple is highlighting in the campaign. I hope the next generation is more accepting and understanding of issues such as this as the world moves so fast it can only improve with time. – Hannah Sinclair | 67

I N S I D E - O U T M A T E R I A L C U L T U R E They say that you can tell a lot about a person by the clothes they wear. You can examine their personality, identify their social status and their clothing is the book cover you judge. What if you could turn their clothes inside out, look a bit deeper into the type of stitching used, the marks they leave, the tears they chose to ignore? As babies we are left to discover and analyse the world with clean minds and this is how we learn. Ben Whyman does exactly that, he is currently the manager at The Centre for Fashion Curation, London College of Fashion and he practices material cultural analysis. What is ‘material cultural analysis’? ‘Material cultural analysis’ is a method of exploration within the broader study of material culture. It is a way of analysing material objects, at many different levels. The fundamental process is about looking, touching and looking again, to explore the physical, tangible and material qualities of the object (if it is man-made, it is commonly known as an artefact, being a sub-section of an object). You start with a description stage, where you describe as fully as you can what the object is made of, through all its material qualities (What is it? What is it made of? How big is it?). You move on to a deduction stage, where you revisit your initial findings to start exploring the intangible questions surrounding the object (Why was it made? Who was it made for?). The final stage, speculation, is where you take all your evidence and deductions and start exploring hypotheses about the whys, the whats, and the hows of the object. Theorists like Jules Prown, Daniel Miller, Susan Küchler and Ian Woodward have written much on material culture. As a method of research, it was formalised by Prown in 1982.

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What is it used for? The method is used by sociologists, anthropologists, ethnographers, historians, design historians, art historians and more – all sorts of researchers from many different fields who find the value in exploring the nature of what surrounds us (manmade or natural) and how it can add to the understanding of our world. What influenced/inspired you to further your knowledge and studies in material cultural analysis? Through my personal interest in collecting things, and curiosity in how others collect things (I am initially trained in art history and museum studies, both of which demand a level of analysis of objects in various ways), I was drawn to material culture analysis over time. As I worked my way through an MA in Fashion Curation a few years ago at London College of Fashion, curated several exhibitions, and then developed my PhD proposal on biography, material culture and menswear, I realised how important an understanding of objects from so many different levels and perspectives was to my personal interests and research focus. Basically, I love objects and am drawn to them, especially objects that have been worn, damaged, and used over time. The patina of age of an object is incredibly beautiful to me, and “speaks” about time, distance, loss, stories, memory. For these reasons, I am drawn to a recently-established field of research, the biography of objects.

In your opinion, what is the most interesting thing you can discover about someone by looking at their garments? I refer a lot to Peter Stallybrass and his writing on clothing, and a traditional tailoring term called ‘the memory of cloth’. Clothing, as objects, are silent witnesses to the lives of those who wear them. In every crease, every speck of shed skin trapped between the warp and weft of the garment, every stain, there is a story to tell – sometimes minor and insignificant, sometimes major. But I always find that even the small stories are often part of a larger, more poignant story to tell about how we live as individuals, as societies, as cultures, how we express ourselves. We make choices, including what we wear, and that alone speaks volumes. And to analyse the stories of someone’s dress and what they chose to wear, either through oral testimony, or through material culture analysis and capturing the materiality of the garment, we can start to build a story, even if it is a skeletal framework, of someone’s life. – Sam Nelson

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G E N E R A T I O N

ROBOT

ARE THE CLOTHES WE WEAR REFLECTIVE OF OUR PERSONALITY AND IDENTITY, OR ARE THEY SIMPLY CONFORMING TO MODERN SOCIETY? It’s 8am. The alarm is ringing in your ears, you’re ten minutes late and you need to piece together an outfit that could pass as an acceptable ensemble. What do you do? What message do you want to send out the world at a sleepy 8am? Do you put on your white loose fit t-shirt, with your stone wash skinny jeans? Or something more conservative? The clothes you wear send out a message to the world concerning not only your style, but: your personality, political views, attitude and musical tastes, the list is endless. Does the outfit you are wearing right now reflect you’re laid back almost asleep attitude, you voted green, your favourite film is White Men Can’t Jump, or that you know the Red Hot Chilli Peppers Californication album, word for word, song for song? The fact is, we decide what we are going to wear every morning, not to reflect who we are, but to conform to what mood we’re in. We make the decision whether we want a comfy day, or whether we are hoping to be stopped for the weekly street style section in Grazia. However it hasn’t always been this way. 50s style icons, the Teddy Boys, rebelling against the repetitive life of their parents, created a troublesome, enthusiastic youth culture. By rioting in cinemas, showcasing real passion and personality through their edwardian jackets and Elvis like quiffs, the Teddy Boys made a name for themselves. Then there were the Punks of the 70s. Migrating in their masses to the Kings

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Road, pushing their left wing views through their non-conformist style flaunting studs, bondage, and heavy leather in a disobedient revolt against Thatcher’s politics. The Mods, the Rockers, 1980s glam, 1970s northern soul, are all sub-cultures and style movements that had a distinctive, non-conforming expressive style that pushed opinions and sold a dangerously fun way of life. Today however, could not be more different from our fashion history. There are no Mods, no B-boys, no Dandies. Instead, we have fashions more or less incapable of communicating anything meaningful and expressive. The ability to read the appearance of others has been made difficult due to the mass production of clothing. Biker jackets for £9.99 in Primark are definitely not being sold to adrenalin filled servicemen, finding the bland conformity of post war America hard to accept. Fashion has lost its communicative ability. Mass produced fashion is creating a society of deceptive appearances, and masking humanity in a wardrobe of misinterpretation. Mark Twain said: ‘clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society’. Street style is, and most definitely will always be a visual language. Strangers meet with no more than a fleeting glance to make an impression. Upon glancing at a person for five seconds, judgements are made. We make snap judgements, and draw conclusions about each other based on our clothing choices. Are we communicating the correct interpretation of

ourselves? Perhaps the interpretation we create of ourselves through the clothes we wear is not an entirely true reflection of our personality. And perhaps we are masking our true identity with what is ‘in trend’, what Topshop are selling, or what our next door neighbour’s cousin’s sister was tagged in on Instagram last Saturday. Whether we admit to it or not, we allow this self-obsessed, egotistical, capitalist led society to choose how we dress on a daily basis. We allow the body to become the barrier of social status, rather than an open canvas for expressing our own beliefs and interests. Twenty first century culture is slowly but surely turning the population into robots conforming, obedient, harmonious robots. So tomorrow, at 8am when dashing to your wardrobe, think, am I wearing this for me, or am I wearing this to fit in to the jungle that we call modern mankind? – Brogan-Amie Clephan

Collection: Millie Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Hare Photography: Amy Elisabeth Segar

C U L T U R E I S N O T C O S T U M E

Collection: Emily Gaskell Photography: Amy Jackson & Holly Scott

Cultural appropriation, often a controversial topic, is the adoption or use of important symbols from one culture that have been adopted by another. A prime example of this is the bindi, an element of Indian culture that in recent years has been adapted into a fashion trend. The bindi is a red circle shape that’s traditionally worn on the foreheads of married Hindu women as a sign of love and prosperity, whereas today many people from around the world are wearing Bindi’s, regardless of their religion or culture. Many celebrity figures have been known to adopt this trend, such as Gwen Stefani who was renowned for wearing the bindi as a style staple throughout the 90’s. Today, celebrities such as Kendall and Kylie Jenner are seen wearing the accessory over social media. Use of the bindi as a trend was noticed at the festival Coachella, where it sparked an enormous debate, with many arguing that the bindi is a symbolic element of Indian culture, therefore shouldn’t be worn for fashion purposes. Festival fashion is also often associated with cultural appropriation of the headdress. The native American headdress is an item historically worn by the culture’s elders, and men who have earned the right to wear one, yet festivals like Coachella are filled with young women using it as a fashion statement. The blog hosting site Tumblr has been used as a platform to debate this issue, featuring profiles with titles such as ‘Should You Wear That Bindi?’ which aim to enlighten people on the issues raised by adopting such trends from different cultures, and making people reconsider their fashion choices. – Danica Hatton

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Verity Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Brien

THE PERCEPTION OF PERFECT ION 15.6 million of the Great British public went under the knife in 2014. But what for? Is the pursuit of perfection that great? Do we need to manipulate our appearance, in the quest to be uncontrollably desirable? Do we really have such underlying, rampant insecurities, that the only option is to turn to exceedingly expensive procedures, in order to achieve complete satisfaction? Or are we sucked up in an inflated, narcissistic society with beauty standards that utterly ridiculous, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s young girls sucking on a glass in a vain attempt to attain lips like Kylie Jenner?

It may just be a little lip filler today, and then a slight eyebrow lift tomorrow, but that will never be enough. Plastic surgery is an addiction, and one lip filler today can get you hooked tomorrow. Setting out on a never ending quest for gratification, yet ending up with irreplaceable damage, and a deceptive, dishonest appearance. In a world where image is treated as personal advertising, and the presentation of self, gains more ‘likes’, and more ‘followers’. It is no wonder that this disturbing trend is excelling at such a rate. We may all be masking undeniable emotional issues with a face that doesn’t move by 2030.

Brogan-Amie Clephan

Fat injections. Buttock alignment. Breast enhancement. Liposuction. Just four of the ten procedures Heidi Montag undertook in one day. Ten body modifications, twenty four hours. In a society where celebrities compulsively go under the knife, treating plastic surgery like an eyebrow wax, constantly eradicating the concept of beauty - it begs the question. Are we living in a world where 15.6 million of us are housing such mental and emotional addictions, we are willing to put ourselves in more debt than a newly graduated, nine thousand pound a year British graduate?

F A L LIN G A P A R T deconstruction is often misconstrued as the destroying of something, but instead deconstruction is the playing of form and shape which is why it is so important for the fashion and arts.

deconstruction in fashion was first noticeable in the 1980s and is a technique that was developed by the avant-garde Japanese designers, commes des garcons, junya watanabe and yohji yamamoto. these designers almost destroyed all definition of clothing and fashion, they pushed boundaries and let clothing reshape and respond to the human's body and movement. their concepts were undoubtedly original and different to any other designers at that time. deconstructioned garments are aesthetically non functional, amounting to anti-fashion designers such as maison martin margiela, phoebe english, helmut lang, rei kawakubo and ann demeulemeester. elements of aesthetically non functional garments include exposed fabrics and seams and the stripping away to reveal form.

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maison martin margiela is regarded as the fashion designer of deconstructivism. margiela is known for his recycling of old fashion. he picks apart, turns seams and zip fasteners to the outside and reverses the fabrics. although recycling is a large part of the fashion industry, margiela instead bases his designs on aesthetic rather than on ecological. his work process of wearing and tearing fabrics achieves both new aesthetics but also a new authenticity. this idea of deconstruction is not only seen in his clothing, it is seen in his logo where he sews an empty laundry label inside his garments. rei kawakubo has also continued to push the boundaries with her all black collections but it was not until comme des garcons used deconstruction within the ‘destroy’ collection that truly divided critics. kawakubo’s introduction of deconstruction to the fashion industry was nothing short of revolutionary. it was thought that nobody would buy her collections, yet thirty years later comme des garcons is a powerhouse of success. with an empire that includes furniture, architecture and a diffusion range designed with high street brand h&m, it is without question that staying true to your own vision will set you apart from others and will bring you success. consequently, deconstruction fashion is meant to challenge the traditional perception of beauty and establish fashion that is not necessarily perfect. – amy marsden

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HOW DO WE MEASURE VALUE IN FASHION DESIGN

SOURCE/ THE DESIGN COUNCIL SOURCE/ BRITISH FASHION COUNCIL

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THE BRITISH FASHION INDUSTRY HAS NEVER BEEN STRONGER THE DIRECT VALUE OF THE FASHION INDUSTRY TO THE UK ECONOMY IS

£26 BILLION THE UK FASHION INDUSTRY SUPPORTS AN ESTIMATED

8 1 6 , 0 0 0 J O B S I N FA S H I O N A N D D E S I G N MAKING THE UK THE 3RD LARGEST FA S H I O N E M P LO Y E R I N T H E E U

Since 2013 UK sales of online fashion have increased by an impressive 14.5% to reach £10.7 billion in 2014 / Online sales in the UK account for approximately 17% of total spending on clothing and footwear, up from 13% in 2011 / The forecast for the market remains strong with sales expected to reach £19 billion in the UK by 2019 / Today as many as 70% internet users in the UK buy clothing and footwear online, making clothing and footwear the most purchased item online / Total annual revenue of UK’s fashion magazine industry in 2009 £410million / The Men’s clothing market has seen sales rise by 22% in the last year to reach £13.5 billion. | 83

MILLENNIAL TWENTY SIXTEEN GENERATION Y THE CREATIVE STRUGGLE young creatives contemplating employment in the industry

Generation Y, the generation born between 1980 and the late 90s, comprising primarily of the children of the baby boomers and those increasingly familiar with the digital age. This modern society are the new wave of graduates, all looking for the career path of their dreams. The harsh reality is, they might not ever find it. A recent study published by The Independent showed statistics that only half of all UK graduates are currently working in a field that somewhat relates to their degree. The number of graduates hired by organisations featured in The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers rose by 7.9% in 2014, compared with recruitment in 2013, the largest annual rise in graduate recruitment for four years. In a battle between the generations, Gen Y, otherwise known as Millennial’s, often come off looking like the bad guy. They’ve been slandered as idle and accused of freeloading. Whilst it’s very easy to judge from your office desk that you probably aren’t so keen at sitting at five days a week, ask yourself, would your younger self want to take up an un-stimulating job on a low salary when you’ve just spent the equivalent to a deposit for a house on university fees. Why wouldn’t you want to put your degree to use?

JOE/ EIGHTEEN/ GRAPHIC DESIGNER

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WILL/ NINETEEN/ FINE ARTIST

GEN-Y

ALEX/ TWENTY-THREE/ FASHION COMMUNICATOR 86 |

Figures show that in 2015, over 2.2 million graduates left university with a degree. According to Higher Education Statistics Agency, one in five graduates are awarded a first class honours. Surely this gives the graduate the upper hand when looking for employment in their field as most major employers now increasingly demand a 2.1 degree or higher as a pre-requisite for gaining a place on a graduate scheme. The creative industry now consists of one in every eleven jobs but the demand for these positions is rapidly increasing as more graduates are pursuing a career within the arts. Although figures show the number of UK jobs in creative occupations rose to 1.9m in 2014, an increase of 6.4 per cent across the economy, studies show how competitive the industry has become over the years. Things aren’t as simple as packing up your pint-sized uni room, moving down to the big city and landing a stylist’s assistant job at i-D Magazine. You might find you’ll have to work your way round every coffee shop in the East End, where you’ll be referred to as a barista or work seven nights a week as a mixologist before you even contemplate doing something you love. This is all assuming your dad’s, best friend’s, old friend isn’t Phillip Green and your mum didn’t go to school with Lulu Kennedy’s neighbour! – Amy Elisabeth Segar

MILLENNIAL

SARA/ TWENTY-TWO/ MENSWEAR DESIGNER

I M A G I N E A T I M E W H E N T H E W O R K O F FA S H I O N S T U D E N T S WA S N ’ T C E L E B R AT E D Imagine a time when the work of fashion students wasn’t celebrated and showcased as it is today. Before the launch of Graduate Fashion Week in 1991, there was a lack of recognition for universities and their creative talent. Today, however, the annual event provides a unique platform for the very best students and graduates from some of the most innovative fashion courses, from over 40 universities in the UK and internationally. Graduate Fashion Week’s return to the Old Truman Brewery in London this June marks the 25th anniversary of the event, and to celebrate we’re reflecting on how much graduate fashion week means to us at #wearefashion. Graduate Fashion Week is the perfect way for students to gain exposure with some of the biggest names in the industry. We were delighted to learn that Burberry’s Christopher Bailey and Victoria Beckham have become Patrons. The Fashion BA course here at Liverpool School of Art & Design have been a part of Graduate Fashion Week for many years, and we are still just as excited to be returning in 2016.

#wearefashion

H A P P Y T W E N T Y F I F T H B I R T H D AY G R A D U AT E FA S H I O N W E E K #gfw25

there is always something happening in the north

IN THE NORTH IN THE NORTH IN THE NORTH IN THE NORTH IN THE NORTH IN THE NORTH IN THE NORTH IN THE NORTH IN THE NORTH IN THE NORTH IN THE NORTH IN THE NORTH

Y T

N O R HER VIBRANT

gritty and cool

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T N

TIME TO

give the capital hotspot a run for its money give the capital hotspot a run for its money give the capital hotspot a run for its money give the capital hotspot a run for its money give the capital hotspot a run for its money give the capital hotspot a run for its money

e v e r y thing

open to everything

I urge everyone here to remember how important it is, at whatever stage of life, to get outside of yourself and your own ambitions and to think about how to help those who are less fortunate. ANNA WINTOUR

northern

YOU TH.

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IRWOL .SEIVAD T N E Y P 2

H O R O R 0

E R T H N U T H O J E C T 1 6

Graduates Lowri Davies, Sophie Pittom, Elisa Jaycott and Katie Booth join current Level 6 Design student Niamh Conway to showcase work at The Northern Youth Fashion Event 2016. Students had the opportunity to take part in a meet and greet with editor-in-chief of American Vogue, Anna Wintour. The event was sponsored and showcased by The Guardian and Dazed & Confused.

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ANNA

EIHPOS .MOTTIP

NTOUR WIN

WIN TO NA

HIGHLY MOTIVATED, DILIGENT

The show was amazing, with a grungy set design made to look like a northern street. Northern singer/songwriter Billie Marten sang beautiful folk tunes as the models, styled in white trainers and minimal makeup, came out from above us and walked slowly down the steps. It began gradually and then suddenly there were swathes of models weaving in and out of each other. The crescendo of the show was all the models standing in the middle of the floor staring back at the audience with defiance. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Niamh Conway

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An insight into a

NORTHERNCITTY

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Liverpool City has a rich heritage, whether it’s the reputable music scene, eye for the creative arts, fashion flair or world class football, Liverpool holds it’s own!

NORTH ERN HEIG HTS

The city of Liverpool, architecturally, consists of some of the most historic buildings in the country and some of the most contemporary, urbanised structures around - clean lines, glass, concrete, steel, mixed with brutalism, georgian and victorian facades.

LIVERPOOL

One of Liverpool’s major creative hubs, The Baltic Triangle, works on generating employment for the industry whilst urban living spaces are providing residents with an inner city life more akin to the capital like never before. Something Liverpool prides itself on when it comes to competing against other British cities is providing creative careers in newly renovated, cool spaces. Windows of opportunity within the creative industry are opening up throughout the city and across the North West, from fashion designers at JD Sports, Shop Direct, Very, BooHoo and Missguided to graphic design and journalistic roles at independent magazines, The Skinny, His & Hers Magazine, and Flux.

LIVER POOL

Liverpool consists of urbanisation and expansion yet indulges in its historically rich heritage. Several areas of the city centre have been granted World Heritage Site status, including the unmistakable Pier Head and The Albert Dock. Architect Norman Foster, famous for building some of the worlds most recognisable structures, proposed a new addition to Liverpool’s waterfront, the fourth grace, to be named Liverpool Ark. Planning never went ahead and the city decided to keep it’s three graces, Royal Liver Building, Cunard Building and Port of Liverpool Building untouched.

The Baltic Triangle Ropewalks Liverpool Science Park Liverpool Innovation park LJMU Open Labs Gross Value Added in the creativity and digital sectors has risen substantially over the last 10 years, growing from £740 million in 2003 to reach £878 million by 2013.

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There’s an equal amount of brutalism in the architecture in and around the surrounding area of Merseyside. Liverpool Queen Elizabeth ll Law Court, designed around Liverpool Castle, opened in 1984 and is arguably the cities most controversial structure. It’s not what you might call easy on the eye. It’s thick, brown stone structure rises high, filled with dark glass windows and a monotone colour palette throughout.

This is merely an insight to the cities’ artistic culture and newfangled architecture. If you fancy a change from the fast paced, high rise, city life in the South, take that trip up North. You might be pleasantly surprised, even if you don’t want to admit it. It’s not all grim.

– Amy Elisabeth Segar

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CITS ITRA CITSITRA CITY ERUTLUC

One name that you cannot fail to mention when discussing Northern architecture and artistic culture, is Anthony Gormley. The contemporary artist is best known for one of the most recognisable landmarks in the UK overlooking Newcastle Tyne and Wear, The Angel of the North, but Gormley also lined Crosby beach in Liverpool with 100 cast iron life-size statues of himself. There are no specific features to the ‘Another Place’ sculptures, just simple body casts of the artist looking out towards the sea, staring at the horizon in silent expectation. Tarnished by the fluctuating tide, the rusted effect only adds character to his work.

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Illustration courtesy of Si Scott

FOR THE

TYPE

Si Scott is one of the UK’s most innovative graphic designers. His portfolio consists of an eclectic range of illustration, graphics and type, and he’s produced worked for some big names in the fashion industry. We chatted to this Northern powerhouse about his influences, his penchant for hand rendered design, and what’s next for his career. What are your influences? Does music or art influence you? It’s more music really. I first got heavily into music when I was 12 or 13 and it was bands like the Pixies. Their designer was Vaughan Oliver and I remember reading something from him about the way his whole philosophy of design was that he wanted to create things that people would want to hang on the wall; art I guess. At the time I didn’t know what graphic design was, but to me graphic design was album covers. I didn’t know about packaging design and things like that, in school we didn’t learn about design like kids do nowadays, so music helped introduce me to it. Some of your work seems to have a Japanese style, would you say that Japanese culture and art is one of your influences? When I was at college I worked in the shop Maharishi Clothing and they kind of nick a lot of Japanese looking design. Working there might have subconsciously influenced me by seeping into my work. I love Japanese drawings of Geisha’s, and when I was in Japan I noticed how they’ve really kept hold of their culture, while here I feel we haven’t really got a British culture anymore. I really like the fact you do everything by hand, but why haven’t you developed into a software? Do you feel that designing by hand is a dying art? It’s more of just a personal thing for me. I haven’t got the patience to learn how to do things with a computer. If there’s a way of making something that might take me a bit longer than learning on the computer I’ll still do it that way cause I just prefer it. I’ve never been a massive fan of computers; we definitely didn’t have one in my house as a kid, but I guess most students now, everyone has laptops, whereas I just bought my first laptop about a month ago. I feel like with this generation there’s no patience anymore as everything is so accessible straight away, and that’s not a bad thing I guess, it’s just the way it is.

Can you describe your process in making artwork? It all depends what it is. Sometimes it’s really quick and what I generally find is, if something happens really quickly I end up liking the work more, whereas It feels too forced if I spend too much time on it. When I was at college we’d get months to work on a project and I think if I had to spend so long on a project now I’d get bored senseless. I sometimes get bored of my own work because I’ve seen it so many times. Do you collaborate? Not often, but I have done in the past. I don’t really like doing work with another illustrator, if I collaborate I like to work with people who do totally different things to me, or there’s no real point. If I give someone a piece of my work and they go off and make something I don’t understand, that’s cool. What are you currently working on? I’ve just worked on a re-brand for a big food company in London and I’ve done something for a TV show which was nice. It’s obviously good to earn money on these types of projects but money doesn’t drive me. I’ve seen so many people whose work has become sh*t because they’ve got too focused on earning money to pay the bills, but I don’t want to be like that; I’d rather just be happy. As fashion communicators we know you’ve worked with a lot of big fashion brands. What has been your favourite fashion project? Matthew Williamson, purely for the fact he was so cool to work with and there was no drama. He’s such a big fashion designer and he was so easy to work with, I showed him my drawings and he was just like “yeah, cool, let’s do it”.

Is there a fashion company that has asked to work with you but you’ve said no for any reason? I can’t really remember off the top of my head, but there probably has been. One thing you’ll notice if you become freelance, you’ll get used to the fact that 50 percent of work that comes in doesn’t happen. You’ll get an email saying there’s a possible project and it comes to nothing, and at first you wonder if there’s something you did wrong, but it’s just the way it is. There’s so many people involved in fashion advertising and people are always changing their minds. So, we hear you’re entering into Tattooing, Why? And why in Spain? It’s just something new really. My work gets used for tattoos a lot and I get asked a lot to design them. A lot of the time people send me photos of their tattoos they got of my work, and they’ll email me saying “this is how much I like your work”, and I’ll think obviously you don’t, because that’s f*cking shocking! You think surely if someone’s going to get a tattoo, they should find someone that can do it properly. It’s a really hard industry to get into because they treat it like a secret club, but Pedro, who I’m going to work with in Spain, knows that it’s not like that. There’s a lot of tattoo artists that just copy a picture someone takes in to them. Whereas I want to be the type of tattooist that if someone brings in a design, I’ll re-draw it in a certain style so they get a unique tattoo, and that’s how Pedro works too. A lot of tattooists just pick an area of tattooing such as Japanese or Korean or Type, which is just like a copy of a copy of a copy. If I’m going to be a tattooist I want to do it the same way I do design. – Amy Jackson & Jamie Crane

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NORTH Motivated by questioning existing depictions of the North of England in fashion imagery, SHOWstudio and Fashion at Liverpool John Moores University unite to unpick Northern identity, the effect of geographic space on creative output and the importance of place.

First Year Fashion Communication students were asked to respond to a series of assignments set by industry professionals including editor Lou Stoppard, photographer Jamie Hawkesworth, curator Ben Whyman and image maker Nina Manandhar. Here we give a showcase of the work and students reflect on their experience being involved with the project.

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The North project was a lovely way to unearth ideas about the places we are about to spend the next few years of our lives in. I took interest in surfaces for the Transport brief and took photographs of everything from weathered handrails to coins in an arcade machine. The North’s stereotypes are like the surfaces I discovered. To see under the surface helped me to develop new ideas about the North and my work. Filling negative space was my direction for the Objects and Space brief. I found a piece of galvanized mesh and filled the squares with ropes, ribbons and threads, anything I could collect from Liverpool. Each square embraced its space, showing how beautiful and diverse they were together, reflecting the North’s people and spaces. This opportunity became real when meeting and conversing with those in the industry whose positions I aspire towards. To make mistakes, build confidence and progress to be a part of their everyday. The growing ambition to be a part of this made me want to explore the unobvious and unexpected, something that isn’t as far away as I imagined. – Hollie Corcoran-Bradbury

It was a great experience to work with established practitioners on a platform such as SHOWstudio, as it provided the opportunity to openly explore and research the stereotypes surrounding the north of England. It challenged me to go out of my comfort zone, by having to experience new things that I wouldn’t necessarily have even considered being exposed to. This helped develop my practice as I started to gain more of an understanding about the different perceptions formed from a stereotype and not at face value. The project made me become more aware of my surroundings. It naturally made me start looking at the potential in terms of design or ideas in everything I saw around me. My favourite part was to learn about all the different preconceived ideas and stereotypes people had of the North; some to be truly bizarre and quite hilarious, others more accurate. It was enjoyable submerging myself within the culture and gaining a true insight in order to find out for myself what ‘The North’ really means. – Isobelle Binns

When set the North project, the challenge to avoid the stereotypes was evident, especially considering how often the North is portrayed as a cold, flat-cap-wearing, pub-residing land of cliches. However if this project taught me anything it was that Northern England, my place of origin, is so much more than that. Not only was this assignment an amazing opportunity to work with such high-profile practitioners, it was a chance to discover the rich, contemporary culture residing in the North. From my Objects and Spaces project, focusing on sculpture found in galleries throughout North England, I found the distinctiveness of each artist’s style incredible; applying the idea of sculpture to fashion display in my final outcome. In my second project, Transport, I used the simple idea of blurred views from train windows to encapsulate the feeling of moving across Northern soil. Layering the squares of colour onto fashion images for my final outcome. This project definitely helped me expand my practice, as well as my horizons, challenging my image-making abilities and pushing me to develop my ideas. – Megan Storey

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Chloe Stephenson Erin Tisdale Lyn Dizon Georgina Bailey Hollie Corcoran-Bradbury Jess Morris Alice Mace Isobel Pownall Isobelle Binns Megan Storey Michaela Moss Vicky Burns

OBJECTS & SPACE TRANSPORT WORDS PARADE

LIVERPOOL CAPITAL OF CULTURE RETAIL

Illustration: Charlotte Allen

THE VISITOR ECONOMY, WORTH £3.8BN SUPPORTS OVER 49,000 JOBS AND CONTINUES TO DEVELOP AS A MAJOR GROWTH SECTOR BRINGING BOTH ECONOMIC BENEFITS AND REPUTATIONAL ADVANTAGE TO THE CITY REGION.

£55.6 MILLION FASHION & RETAIL INVESTMENT LIVERPOOL IS NOW THE 5TH BEST PERFORMING RETAIL DESTINATION IN THE UK AND THE 5TH MOST POPULAR UK CITY FOR OVERSEAS AND DOMESTIC VISITORS. ONGOING SUCCESS OF LIVERPOOL ONE HAS BUCKED THE NATIONAL RETAIL DOWNTURN AND MAINTAINED A FOOTFALL OF 26 MILLION PEOPLE.

www.visitliverpool.biz www.liverpoolvision.co.uk

Francesca Muston, Head of Retail & Analytics, WGSN

T A L NICHE

COLLAGE CITY DISTORTED TYPE DYNAMIC DENIM

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; I N

Forecasting trends before catwalks even begin, we predict the colours, fabrics, prints and styles that will be hanging in your wardrobe for Autumn/Winter 17/18; whether you are haute couture, ready-to-wear, mass market, or a streetwear fashionista. Our trend forecasters have drawn influence from everywhere and everything around them, generating the latest looks and hot colours which will inspire the next wave of designer collections.

FOR A/W 17/18

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Briefly introduce yourself: Francesca Muston, Head of Retail & Analytics, WGSN (departments I manage include Retail & Buying, city by city, trade shows and WGSN INstock content). I’ve worked at WGSN since 2003, spending the majority of that time as the senior editor of the retail dept. This has involved travelling globally and reporting on the trends as they hit shop floors and monitoring trend paths. Do you think that the internet has affected how trend forecasters work? If so, how? Yes undoubtedly. First and foremost it enabled more frequent drops of trend information to clients. Seasonal trend stories could be easily updated as the season approached, or could change to reflect new influences. Inspiration points could be delivered daily as opposed to seasonally or annually printed publications. Secondly, and more recently, it’s opened up trend forecasting to a wider audience with social media platforms allowing an exchange of trend forecasting information even for non professionals. Do you think that the internet (used as a form of communication) has affected fashion trends, their success and subsequent lifespan? If so, how? Yes. Everyone has access to a trend now and people can see many iterations of a trend across the internet. Historically you might wait to see people wearing a trend on the street or on TV but now you can see ordinary people or overseas celebrities wearing a trend. There are so many versions of it and the internet’s ability to make things go viral spreads the information and speeds the adoption rate. It gives consumers confidence to buy into a trend but also an appetite for trends and a certain degree of competitiveness being the first of your peer group to adopt a trend/post the photo to Instagram/like the brand on Facebook etc.

N D S

In your opinion, do you think that social media is an important tool for trend forecasters? If so, is that a good thing or a bad thing? Yes it absolutely is. It allows us to monitor both style influencers and also the later adopters of a trend so we can track it’s lifecycle. Tracking trends across social media is hugely time consuming as influential accounts/blogs come and go so you still need to have well honed trend forecasting skills to know where to look, what to look for, and an idea of what you think will be relevant for your clients. What do you think the future holds for trend forecasters in the fashion industry? Data is increasingly important for the fashion industry. There’s increasingly an expectation that trend forecasters can demonstrate a return on investment for their services which means making trends measurable. Tying up the creative aspects of trend forecasting with the quantifiable business aspects will be the challenge of the future. Gone are the days when you could base your trends on gut feeling and a beautifully edited mood board, or even your own reputation. Fashion is a much bigger business than it was and anyone hoping to enjoy the creative elements will need to do this alongside the business requirements. Do you think fashion industry professionals will ever get disinterested of the internet and revert back to ‘old fashioned’ ways of research completely i.e. travelling to gain primary research? I wouldn’t say it’s a case of being disinterested, but certainly it’s important to maintain independent research alongside things like social media. At WGSN we need to lead trend information so we shouldn’t allow ourselves to be led by the currents of internet research. Rather we should cast a very wide net for research and then make it relevant to our clients. It’s not the research so much as the ability to work out what it means and how it will be relevant which makes a good trend forecaster. – Sam Nelson

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WOMENSWEAR A/W 17/18

COLLAGE CITY

TEXTURAL | EMBELLISHED | PRINTED Walls and windows are the skin of a building, they supply protection and structure for the design. This translates through when using animal skin for garments, it can portray a plethora of contrasting looks from a creased cow skin to a delicate snake skin.

Jasmin Chong, Sam Nelson & Daisy Miller

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COLLAGE CITY: DETAILS Distressed textures, over embellished panels, laser cut detailing and screen printed metallics are teamed with natural materials such as suede, leather, pony skin and chunky knits to give a lavish collaged finish.

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Charlotte Allen

Design details are at the forefront of this typographic story, with carefully Design details areand at the forefront considered fonts subtle edits. of this typographic story, with carefully After seasons of over-designed digitalconsidered fonts and subtle edits. graphics, designers revert back to After seasons over-designed digitalsimplicity andoffocus on the beauty graphics, designers revert back to of type. Cut-and-paste techniques simplicity and focus on the beauty are used to experiment with layout, of type. Cut-and-paste resulting in fragmentedtechniques designs. are used to experiment with layout, resulting in fragmented designs.

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sign details are at the forefront of this typographic story,

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h carefully considered fonts and subtle edits. Design details are at the forefront of this typographfter ic seasons of over-designed digital-graphics, story, with carefully considered fonts anddesigners subtle ertedits. back to simplicity and focus on the beauty type. Cut-and-paste techniques are used to experiment After seasons of over-designed digital-graphics, h layout, resulting fragmented designs. designers revert in back to simplicity and focus on the beauty of type. Cut-and-paste techniques are used to experiment with layout, resulting in fragmented designs.

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Design details are at the forefront of this typographic story, with carefully considered fonts and graphic edits. This season is full of over-designed digital graphics. Cut-and-paste techniques are used to experiment with layout, resulting in fragmented designs.

MENSWEAR

AUTUMN / WINTER 17/18

DYNAMIC DENIM Idiosyncratic denim is at the forefront of this trend with wearers taking a ‘do it yourself ’ approach. Customisation is key: classic washes, distressed finishes and acid-wash treatments meet artisan embroidery, bleached out tie-dye and hand painted patches. Amy Jackson

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Shannon Tran

Amy M a r s d e n

Charlotte Allen

A m y

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J a c k s o n

X J U I C Y IN T R IN SIC

Chloe Wetherall

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Sam N e l s o n Jasmin Chong | 121

Brogan-Amie C l e p h a n

Lolita Stone

Katie Owens

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Hannah Sinclair

E m i l y C o l l e y

Amy Elisabeth Segar

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Collection: Niamh Conway Photography: Sam Nelson

Collection: Erin Smallwood Photography: Sophie Corkhill

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illustrated catwalk illustrated catwalk illustrated catwalk illustrated catwalk illustrated catwalk illustrated catwalk illustrated catwalk illustrated catwalk illustrated catwalk illustrated catwalk illustrated catwalk illustrated catwalk illustrated catwalk illustrated catwalk illustrated catwalk illustrated catwalk illustrated catwalk illustrated catwalk illustrated catwalk illustrated

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Illustration: Holly Scott

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Print: Danica Hatton

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Collection: Allysia Laurence Photography: Nicole Gray | 133

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Yolanda Edwards

M A D T H E

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hangouts, rebellion, gender fluidity, sexual exploration, street culture, education, revelry, boy and a man.

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London Collections: Men has transformed the profile of British menswear. Originally a one-day event tagged on to the end of London Fashion Week the menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s show schedule now runs across three days. Featuring collections from both established and emerging designers LCM attracts international buyers and press reflecting the growing interest in the menswear market which, in the UK, is predicted to grow 25% from 2014 to 2019.

Lauren Keir

Sarah Graham

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Sarah Graham Yolanda Edwards

Ellie Meskell

Second year Fashion Communication students explore A/W 16 menswear by creating visual stories in response to one of the eight themes from the Mad About The Boy exhibition. | 143

SAY HELLO TO OUR STUDENTS

The fashion industry is constantly evolving. Today, our graduates need to know everything about the fast paced world. From styling, photography, brand development, and social media, to garment construction. Everything we do is about giving our students the skills to be successful in their future lives. Our ethos is to encourage work experience, internships, and new job opportunities.

P A S T Since first year we have been involved in a number of competitions and live projects. I have also undertaken a work placement at Clio Peppiatt. I couldn’t have wished for more support - the staff exceed more than just teaching. Millie O’Hare, Current student.

People in the industry are so shocked that I am able to do all technical stuff as well as the creative input. I feel like we really do have the upper hand when we leave, and a lot more opportunities than other graduates. Sinead Russell, Graduate.

A N D

The BA (Hons) Fashion course has had a massive impact on me. I feel so much more independent and confident in my abilities. It has been an amazing experience, it hasn’t always been easy but I have enjoyed every minute of it and will definitely miss it. Bridie Sheehan, Current student.

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I am so happy I chose to come to university in Liverpool. It is such a friendly, exciting and lively city to be in. The course has made me feel so much more confident and I have became a lot more independent in my work. I am so much more passionate and determined to get a career in fashion with all that I have learnt in my degree. Allysia Lawrence, Current student.

Since leaving I have realised how fantastic the university and lecturers are at LJMU. I learnt such a lot!

The broad nature of the course means I have lots of transferable skills entering the industry, which puts me at an advantage. The course has improved my skills dramatically. While at LJMU I have also taken part in various internships, which have given me a first hand insight into the industry.

Hettie Chadwick Dickinson, Graduate.

Nicole Gray, Current student.

The LJMU John Lennon Art Academy offers excellent facilities and resources in all departments with appropriate staff to aid your work. The school has great studio space and a great atmosphere, and all staff show a genuine interest in your work. Megan Reilly, Current student.

I am so glad I chose this degree, I have learnt so much and my work has improved dramatically. I have developed my own style and feel prepared to go and work in the industry. I have undertaken work placements at New Look as a visual merchandiser and THFKDLF as a garment manufacturer and pattern cutter.

P R E S Megan Harvey, Current student.

Joining this course was the best decision I ever made, I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know where I would be without it. LJMU is inclusive of all people, helpful, inspiring and reignited my ambition to be a better designer. Niamh Conway, Current student.

This degree has taught me to believe in myself and be more confident with my ideas and practice. You are encouraged to be as creative as you can and staff are there to support you. The staff team are extremely knowledgeable and work well together with their expertise. Rachel McLellan, Current student.

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UN_FOLD Magazine_VOL 2 WE MADE THIS

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the following people for their generous support and input on our second edition of UN_FOLD Magazine – this wouldn’t have been possible without your hard work and dedication: Our students: Charlotte Allen, Shanelle Barrett-Simpson, Carmen Billington, Heather Brennan, Niamh Bryan, Jade

Bulmer, Somruethai Bunprasert, Lauren Burgess, Jasmin Chong, Brogan-Amie Clephan, Freya Coates, Emily Colley, Niamh Conway, Sophie Corkhill, Jamie Crane, Meg Daley, Gabrielle Davies, Tilly Dawson, Georgina Dunn, Kaidy Evers, Siobhan Farley, Beth Forrester, Jessica Frizzell, Emily Gaskell, Nicole Gray, Megan Harvey, Danica Hatton, Amy Jackson, Richard Kiyimba, Allysia Lawrence, Lauren Logan, Glen Mafham, Amy Marsden, Will Marsden, Lizzie Mason, Rachel McLellan, Roxie Mealey, Daisy Miller, Sam Nelson, Verity O’Brien, Millie O’Hare, Katie Owens, Danielle Panther, Sam Parker, Amy Phillips, Megan Reilly, Rebecca Roberts, Holly Scott, Amy Segar, Bridie Sheehan, Jean Simons, Hannah Sinclair, Yinka Skorski, Erin Smallwood, Lolita Stone, Shannon Tran, Rachel Triggs, Charlotte Tsang, Shannon Watkins, Chloe Wetherall, Charli Williams, Kayleigh Williams, Fenella Williams, Jaz Yates.

All the fashion team, from garment design and dissertation writing to photography and visual communication: Lesley Peacock, Kayla Owen, Margaret Woodley, Kira Courtney, Paul Robinson, Anne Liddell, Dr Lee Wright, Fiona Armstrong-Gibbs, Jacqueline McAssey, Adam Murray, Carol Ryder. Technical staff: Cathy Reilly, Ann Jones, Lol Baker, Neville Costain, Carlos Santos Barea, Milos Simpraga, Hannah Fray, Paul Davidson. Photographers: Viktorija Grigorjevaite and Simone Navardauskaite. Illustrator: Holly Scott. Our models: Ella Wellington, Charlotte Lindsay, Grace Doyle, Georgina Alcroft, Rukiya Williams, Stuey Thomas, Anthony Payne, Ellie May Carter, Harry South, Din Havoli, Ruby Wong, Sam Binymin, Jaelon Williams, Toni Bagley, Michael Eze, David Evans, Andrew McNeil, Gavin Bullivant, Keenan Hylton, Aaron McFayton, Sophie Brizzell, Sara Monteverde, Alex Rivell, Wil Hockenhaul, Joe Wyness, Sophie Cooke, Shauna Roberts, Candy Star, Josue Dimbele, Emma Ross. Make Up Artists: Alaina Roberts, Lauren Bailey, Kelsey Thompson and Gabrielle Davies. To those who generously gave up their time and resources: Hard Days Night Hotel, Liverpool Central Library, Algeo Limited, GHLeathers, THFKDLF and Ciment Pleating, Special thanks must also go to our editor Amy Jackson and guest editor Victoria Graham, our lead magazine designers Amy Elisabeth Segar and Brogan-Amie Clephan, and lastly Jane Crowther of GFSmith Papers. Sorry if your name has been missed, but thank you, everyone appreciates your help and contribution. Thank you

Paul Owen Creative Director & Editor in Chief WE_ARE_FASHION & UN_FOLD Magazine

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www.wearefashion.co.uk

The views expressed in UN_FOLD Magazine are those of the respective contributors and are not necessarily shared by Liverpool John Moores University or its staff. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in the magazine, Liverpool John Moores University cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. All rights reserved. No parts of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers. First Published in the UK, by Liverpool John Moores University.

#WE ARE FASHION #WE ARE COMMUNICATORS #WE ARE DESIGNERS #WE ARE TREND SEEKERS #WE ARE RISK TAKERS #WE ARE INNOVATIVE #WE ARE AMBITIOUS #WE ARE COLLABORATIVE #WE ARE CREATIVE

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