The recent death of Yves St Laurent is a pertinent reminder of the role a great fashion designer can play in altering the way society expresses itself through dress and how such a figure brings about real change. Saint Laurent’s creation, ‘Le Smoking” trouser suit of 1967 helped to emancipate women and support greater equality [...]
Archives for 2010
November 1, 2010
Luxury
“Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy, But not expressed in fancy; rich, not gaudy, For the apparel oft proclaims the man.” Hamlet The relevance of this Shakespearian quote is clearly demonstrated at a time of year when we are all turning our minds to presents and the inevitable increase in consumption. It challenges [...]
The Skin You’re In
A recent trip to New York was revealing not because of the shopping or food although they were as varied and wonderful as ever, but I was struck by the number of tattoos proudly worn by people from across the social strata. These tattoos were extensive and showed a permanent commitment to ritual and adornment [...]
September 1, 2010
Green Credentials
Renowned sociologist Anthony Giddens, in the introduction to his book “Modernity and Self- Identity “, highlights the risks facing our contemporary social and economic structures. He states that: Modernity reduces the overall riskiness of certain areas and modes of life, yet at the same time introduces new risk parameters largely or completely unknown to previous [...]
A Cut Above
With the concentration on our carbon footprint, we forget that an essential part of our human DNA is the cultural footprint we construct throughout our lives, which plays a key role in our economic, social and cultural interactions. Whether it is the books we read, the music we listen to, the films we watch, or [...]
Wardrobe Dilemmas
Traditionally, spring is the time for out with the old and on with the new: a time for blossoming ideas, often about how we might take responsibility for innovating and starting again. To do this we must begin with the personal, we cannot bring about new directions if we believe the responsibility for it lies [...]