Cambridge University Conservative Association (CUCA) have debated a motion entitled “This House prefers Prince Andrew to Meghan Markle.” The motion, which was presented at an Association Port and Policy event on January 25, was allegedly passed by a significant margin.
Prince Andrew has been immersed in controversy over his relationship with the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who committed suicide in his jail cell in August of last year whilst awaiting sentencing for sex trafficking.
After an interview with the BBC’s Newsnight, the Prince was effectively forced to relinquish his royal duties and retreat from public life.
Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, has recently retreated from royal duties alongside her husband Prince Harry, with the intention of splitting their time between the United Kingdom and North America.
In a statement last month, the Duke and Duchess said: “After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution.
“We intend to step back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen.
“It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment.”
The pair’s decision has sparked virulent controversy, including last month’s debate at the CUCA. Other motions debated at the event were “This House Would Scrap the BBC License Fee” and “This House Supports a Nuclear Iran.”
The Prince Andrew and Meghan Markle debate was the last of the evening. One attendee told The Tab that “most people weren’t sober after the second motion.”
The controversy over Prince Andrew’s close relationship with Epstein took off following his interview with Newsnight’s Emily Maitlis.
In the interview, the Prince admitted he does not regret his close relationship with Epstein, stating “the people that I met and the opportunities that I was given to learn, either by him or because of him, were actually very useful.”
He denied allegations made by Virginia Giuffre (now Roberts) that she had sexual relations with Prince Andrew after being sex trafficked to him by Epstein in 2001.
Prince Andrew said Giuffre’s accusation of him sweating during the encounter meant her version of events could not be true, as he had a medical condition that prevented him from sweating at the time.
He told Maitlis: “I didn’t sweat at the time because I had suffered what I would describe as an overdose of adrenaline in the Falklands War when I was shot at and I simply … it was almost impossible for me to sweat,”
Prince further criticised the authenticity of a photograph taken of him and Giuffre in 2001. “I don’t believe it’s a picture of me in London because … when I go out in London, I wear a suit and a tie,” he said.
“That’s what I would describe as… those are my travelling clothes… if I’m going overseas.”
The claim was made despite the fact newspapers have previously pictured Prince Andrew on a night out in London wearing jeans without a tie or blazer.
The Prince said: “nobody can prove whether or not that photograph has been doctored but I don’t recollect that photograph ever being taken.”
He also provided an alibi for the events of March 10, 2001, saying he went to a Pizza Express in Woking with his daughter. He remembered the occasion as “weirdly distinct” as it was one of the few times he’d been to Woking or to the Pizza Express there, making it, in his own words, “a very unusual thing for me to do”.
The Duchess’ retreat from public life seems to have been as controversial, if not more so, than the Prince’s. Many have suggested that the backlash to Markle has been down to racism.
The Daily Mail has referred to Markle’s “exotic DNA” and described her as “almost straight outta Compton.”
The BBC fired radio presenter Danny Baker after he tweeted, following the birth of the couple’s son Archie last year, a picture of a chimpanzee holding hands with a couple. He captioned it “Royal Baby leaves hospital.”
Last month, This Morning presenter Eamonn Holmes attacked Markle as “awful, woke, weak, manipulative, spoilt and irritating … I look at her and I think, ‘I don’t think I would like you in real life.’”
CUCA has a history of inviting figures from the right of the political spectrum, including Jacob Rees-Mogg, Godfrey Bloom, Arron Banks and Peter Bone.
Former chairmen of the CUCA include Ken Clarke (Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1993-97), Douglas Hurd (Foreign Secretary from 1989-95), and Norman Lamont (Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1990-93).
CUCA did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
A collective bid for funding by Oxfordshire County Council, Oxford City Council, the Oxford Bus Company, Arriva and Stagecoach to the Department of Transport, could see Oxford become the first city in England to be using a fleet of all-electric buses.
This is part of a new scheme by the Department of Transport to give out up to £50 million to the successful town or city to go towards the financing of a modern fleet of all-electric buses. The aim is to reduce emissions in congested towns and cities with public transport that’s both up-to-date and less polluting. The “All-Electric Bus Town” initiative is an attempt to see what can be done if there is a genuine commitment to running all buses in an area by electricity, in the interests of making a zero-carbon future more affordable.
Applying for the funds means participating in a competition of two phases. The first phase opened on February 6th and remains open until April. A shortlist will then be considered in the second phase, ending in August.
Coming within the framework of the government’s new “national bus strategy”, this is part of a total of £170 million allocated by the government to revitalise bus services by making them more frequent, efficient and environmentally-friendly. These are part of a concerted central government effort to tackle entrenched problems with England’s bus services.
Alongside seeking funding to go all-electric, Oxford’s councils also plan to apply for £20 million towards the design and promotion of on-demand sharing service for bus rides in both city and countryside areas, designed to give the public more control over their daily journeys. By matching up demand for buses with local people in a more intuitive way than is possible at the moment, it seeks to alleviate the inconvenience of bus scheduling that has often seen many services go into decline.
This application for funding follows other concerted efforts at improvement in bus services by Oxford City Council in recent years. Since 2018, £2.3 million has been acquired to reduce the toxicity of bus emissions in Oxford from the government’s fund for Clean Bus Technology. Moreover, alongside the County Council, it has announced innovative plans to introduce an Oxford City Zero Emissions Zone, alongside growing bus services, to help ease congestion in the city and contribute to tackling the Climate Crisis.
According to Councillor Tom Hayes, the council’s efforts in recent years have seen a “drop in harmful nitrogen dioxide levels by an average of 22.7%” due to the investment in ultra-low emission buses. Launching “the UK’s first city centre Zero Emission Zone in December this year” is just another step in achieving the council’s ambition of a Zero Carbon Oxford. Councillors from both the City and County Councils also expressed wishes to take “concerted climate action” alongside a wide-ranging expansion of bus services inside the city and out of it. Balancing commitments to providing efficient services with an environmentally sustainable future is central to their approach.
The initiatives were also welcomed by the bus companies themselves. According to Phil Southall, manager of the Oxford Bus Company, “stronger bus networks are key to reducing congestion and emissions”. Tackling emissions and congestions are as much a priority of Oxfordshire’s bus companies as they are of its councils. However, not all were onboard with the plans. One student told Cherwell that they feared an expansion of the bus network, however environmentally friendly, would cause more disruption in the short term, impacting both students and residents of the City and the wider county.
Pete Buttigieg has emerged successful in the Iowa caucus, the first vote by the Democratic Party for its Presidential candidate.
It has been announced that Buttigieg received 26.2% of the share of votes with 13 delegates, while Bernie Sanders got 26.1% with 12 delegates. This is the first in a series of state-by-state votes, known as primaries and caucuses.
38-year old Buttigieg attended Oxford University from 2004 to 2007as a Rhodes scholar, receiving a first class Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics.
He was a member of Pembroke College. While at Oxford, he was editor of the Oxford International Review and co-founded the Democrat Renaissance Project.
In the American Rhodes Scholars-Elect document from May 2005, Buttigieg expressed his career aspirations as “public service, academia, law.”
He said was eager to begin his studies at Oxford, though “as a Mid-westerner”, he was “concerned about adjusting to the warmer English climate.”
Katharine Wilkinson, author and environmentalist, told The New Yorker last year that Buttigieg was an impressive debater, and “curated this great collection of whiskey from around the world”.
Jeremy Farris, his old flatmate, told The New Yorker that he taught himself Norwegian through reading a book on the toilet while in Oxford. In the days before his exams, he “boarded a cargo ship – shopping goods across the ocean – to isolate himself before the multiple days of tests.”
The next hurdle for Buttigieg is the New Hampshire primary, about which he states: “by all indications, we are going on to New Hampshire victorious.” His main contenders are Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren.
With the Iowa caucus, Buttigieg is the first openly LGBT+ candidate to earn presidential primary delegates in a major party’s nomination process. While at his caucus watch party, he called his husband, Chasten, the “future first gentleman of the United States.”
A report published by Plastic Patrol has found that Oxford residents are some of the most engaged litter-pickers in the country.
According to the report, Oxford, London and Reading are some of the most engaged litter-picking locations, as determined by the number of uploads to the Plastic Patrol App. Plastic made up the majority of items found and of this litter, the majority was plastic packaging.
Plastic Patrol aims to accelerate the transition to a circular economy and in the December 2019 Queen’s Speech, the government set out their plan to “progress towards resource efficiency and a circular economy.” Plastic Patrol seeks to use the information gathered by volunteers to ensure that the government meets this target.
The report was compiled after analysing nine-months of data provided by litter-pickers who had downloaded the Plastic Patrol App. During the period, 110,614 pieces of litter were recorded and 64,913 were categorised by type and brand. The report focuses on the litter which was able to be classified.
Plastic Patrol, which is a non-profit organisation has also produced a “litter map” which uses data stored in their App. This allows users to spot trends in litter-picking and single-use plastics. The group also organises clean-up events to encourage people to tidy up the environment around them.
Oxford City Council is responsible for ensuring that the streets are kept clean. Tony Eccelstone, a Council representative, said that though both “Oxford City Council and ODS work hard to keep the city clean” this is a “never-ending task”. Therefore, the Council encourages “partnership working with volunteer groups who aim to help us keep Oxford one of the best litter-picking cities in the country.”
According to the website of OxClean, another non-profit organisation, the City Council supports their litter-picking activities by supplying volunteers with rubbish sacks and taking away full ones.
OxClean also organises a “Spring Clean”every spring and estimates that during the 2019 event, over 1000 volunteers took part and cleared over 6 tonnes of litter. The 2020 Spring Clean will take place from Friday 28th of February to Sunday 1st of March. OxClean also runs “spotless Oxford” which encourages local businesses, such as Quod, to clean up the area outside their business.
In an email to students, Head of Major Capital Projects Karen Brill announced the imminent revelation of the firm tasked with the development of the Stephen A Schwarzman Centre for Humanities, due to complete in Autumn 2024.
The building will be situated at the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter between Woodstock Road and Walton Street.
Following a £150 million investment from the Blackstone Group CEO, the new centre will cover 23000 square metres and merge 6 faculty libraries: English, Philosophy, Theology and Religion, Music, History of Medicine and Film. It has been described by Sir Phillip Pullman as a “proper centre for the study and celebration of the humanities”
The Humanities Division hopes this complex will provide much-needed room for growth, citing a 25% increase in doctoral student numbers since 2000-01 and more than twice as many postdocs and researchers. The Division seeks to promote interdisciplinary research while offering a hub for student work exhibitions.
Once established, the complex will accommodate 200,000 collection items, seat over 400 readers, offer a range of teaching/research and performing arts facilities including a 500-seat music auditorium, 313 workspaces for graduates, broadcasting studios for public lecture sharing and additional accommodation for students pursuing certain divisional Master’s Degrees.
The project will also encompass new academic posts, graduate studentships and scholarships while supporting the department’s “research-oriented” culture programme and Ethics in AI institute.
Oxford Vice-Chancellor Louise Richardson said of the building: “This is an investment in excellence, an investment in Oxford.”
The new library will be part of the Bodleian, featuring a range of study spaces informed by the Bodleian’s 21st Century Library report. The area, which will occupy 2,100 sqm, is comparable to the Taylorian.
No occupational reshuffling is anticipated nor disruption to the mixed college and faculty teaching regime.
Noise and Traffic contributions are expected to be minimal. Dialogue with the Oxford City Council and consultations with neighbours are planned, if not already underway.
The Project Board has also assured stakeholders that they will be regularly informed, including Student Organisations such as the Student Union and Drama Society.
Faculties not relocating, such as Classical and Oriental Studies, will be entitled to full use of the space, and access will also be granted to the wider University.
Several Student consultation events are being organised, including a “brainstorming marquee” on the ROQ site in May 2020.
The Feast of Saint Valentine’s is quickly approaching, but in Frewin Court old lovers and friends seem immune to cupid’s charms. This should come as no surprise – power couples in the Union only last as long as there is electoral gain to be had. Indeed, although the Short Man and Circular Mertonian seem closer than ever, a couple from days gone by is gearing up for outright war.
Battle lines are being drawn for months to come – the Irish Priest will face his old flame in a race. The Priest and Justinian are no strangers to strife, nor are they strangers to pitting friend against friend. The Irish Priest, indulging perhaps too much on communion wine might see power shift from Rome to Constantinople (a much more attractive proposition for young pilgrims).
The French King is in demand – with both Rome and Constantinople begging for support in the ensuing conflict. Well aware that this Civil War has to be quashed – the King must lend their support to the side most likely to defeat the Short Man’s army: their survival is dependent on making the correct decision. Unlike the Short Man, hopefully this will be based on solid reasoning and logic. It seems that Hume was right all along. Reason is slave to the passions, or in this case, the phallus.
Opportunistic, untrustworthy, a terrible judge of character – all the attributes required for political comeback? Well, maybe. Imagine a world where the Short Man offers a past rival a Clean Slate. Choosing to keep their friends close and their ex-enemies closer, BNC’s latest Presidential loser has been made an offer they can’t (and won’t) refuse. An unwelcome return into the political fray will be sure to frustrate the smooth running of the Short Man’s slate. Challenging the younger generation is not advisable – maybe the BNC man should give it up for Lent!
For the most part, the gimpiest of gimps stay out of politics. The explanation is simple: they are too busy gimping. The election of Chief Gimp proves to be a notable exception. Just when all was done and dusted, there was a final twist in the tale. The Once Influential DRO thought they had one last bullet in their chamber. Taking aim at a former ally and counting on the support of old friends, it turned out that unlike in their “extracurricular” activities, they fired a blank. After a few successes, a series of serious misuses of the Society’s rules, and many, many failures, perhaps it is time for The Once Influential DRO to jump before they are pushed.
Planning a holiday soon? Why not visit the prosperous, democratic and perpetually joyful nation of Orgislavia? They’ve hosted the Olympics for hundreds of years and I would visit myself but journalists have a rather nasty habit of disappearing… Luckily, Ünkel (Tommy Hurst) and Gårf (Matt Kenyon) are currently in the BT Studio with ÜnkelGårf on a grand state-sanctioned international tour, ready to introduce the world to Orgislavian culture through the art of mime. The two may be (slightly) more familiar to you as the duo behind Beef Comedy, part of the Oxford Revue. Their chemistry is fantastic. They bounce off each other – sometimes literally – like rubber balls. Speaking of balls, ÜnkelGårf is full of innuendo which is about as subtle as a sledgehammer (but hilarious). There’s fetish gear and salacious physical comedy – what a combination. There’s also twists and turns aplenty in this dark character-based comedy which are darted over, immediately moving onto the next moment of shock.
World-building is pivotal here; Hurst and Kenyon immerse us in a feverishly chaotic yet believable universe. Somehow, the realities and lies of Orgislavian life seem realistic. Perhaps it’s a worrying reflection of political developments which plunge us further into uncertainty, making this world appear more and more possible. Perhaps it’s instead the minimal set which adds weight to this suspension of disbelief, although the sheets used as a make-shift projector screen occasionally contribute to distortion of the projected film. The films themselves, though, are artfully scattered throughout the narrative. With contributions from Frankie Taylor, Angus Moore and Ali Muminoglu, these are snappily witty and a much-needed break for Hurst and Kenyon, who are constantly in motion when the lights are on them. It exhausts me just to watch.
The two of them are electric, throwing themselves around in order to showcase their best mimes. They toy with the boundaries of physical comedy and then throw them out the window. Kavana Crossley’s sound design adds to the comic effect. The show begins with a musical sequence only made possible through a fantastic soundtrack and precise timing. Hurst is cynical and direct as Ünkel while also brotherly; Kenyon, as Gårf, is gullibly playful. Both Gårf and Ünkel develop throughout the show; they perform on a double-level as mimes and deeper performers. For a show that’s less than an hour, ÜnkelGårf takes the audience on a long journey.
Agnes Pethers previously directed Hamlet at the O’Reilly Theatre. Despite this shift in production scale, Pethers appears unfazed to direct in such an intimate space. It’s used skilfully – Hurst and Kenyon step out into the audience, pulling faces at certain members but also remain aware of the constrictions of the staging. It’s a delicate balancing act but one that pays off well.
Witty, dark and frantic, ÜnkelGårf is a delight and hilarity to behold. Freedom of the press be damned; if ÜnkelGårf reflects the fun of life in Orgislavia, then I’m on the next plane out.
Such was his modern and innovative
approach to the craft that it’s easy to forget that many of Irving Penn’s
world-famous Vogue cover photographs date back more than 50 years. Typified by
bold colours, sharp lines and minimalist backdrops, these images would not look
out of place had they been published in 2020. A behemoth of the 20th century
photography industry, this timelessness is testament to Penn’s rich cultural
legacy. Penn was perhaps the first photographer to truly unify art and
commercial photography by combining tried and tested compositional methods with
groundbreaking technical approaches, and his illustrious career saw him shape
the way future generations were to approach their work.
Equal measures modest, daring and
technically accomplished, he left an indelible mark on the industry in the same
way that Ansel Adams shaped the pursuit of landscape photography. Penn was
rarely influenced by commission, and famously declared at a talk at MoMA in
1950 that ‘Whatever the photograph – a description of the battlefield, a
portrait of a Hollywood celebrity, the turn of collar on the latest fashion,
images for a small edition book or images to sell soap – all of them are
equally important’.
Despite reworking the way fashion
photography was viewed, elevating it to the realm of a recognised art form
rather than a purely commercial endeavour, Penn surprisingly never intended to
enter the profession. Born in 1917 to a Russian Jewish family in New Jersey, his
father a watchmaker and his mother a nurse, he dreamed of becoming a painter.
His early years saw him study design, painting and industrial arts at the
Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Art under the guidance of famous
designer Alexey Brodovitch. A move to Mexico to focus on his ambitions resulted
in modest success at best. The seminal moment in his career was to come a
handful of years later when in 1940 he joined the Creative department at Vogue,
initially in an editorial capacity, but where he was soon tasked with
conducting his own shoots.
It was here that his talent
blossomed, so much so that Vogue’s Art Director Alexander Liberman coined the
term ‘stoppers’ in reference to his work, noting their universal tendency to
capture the attention of readers. With his newfound creative calling, Penn began
immediately to deviate from the established norms of fashion photography. While
contemporaries such as Horst P. Horst and Norman Parkinson would conduct shoots
in lavish settings, their subjects surrounded by ornate furniture, gaudy
colours and dense backgrounds, Penn opted to do away with such frills,
favouring minimalist, block-colour backdrops and clean lines. Posing models
against a plain white background may now be the norm for fashion editorials,
but such an approach was revolutionary at the time. His technique is
exemplified by the famous Vogue cover piece shot in 1950 featuring Jean
Patchett; the rich tonal range and high contrast black and white film pair to
create an arresting portrait of the model who gazes sideways from beneath her
veil, juxtaposed against a dazzling white studio wall. This highly stylised
image conveys a typical mixture of grandeur and emotion, but such masterpieces
were not achieved easily. Throughout his career, colleagues noted Penn’s
perfectionism: he bordered on obsessive, often taking hundreds of photographs
before being satisfied with the outcome.
Characterised by his meticulous
attention to detail, Penn perfected the technical side of his craft. He was
adept in his manipulation of light and shadow, thanks in part to the training
he received as a painter. Whereas his contemporaries would often employ high
intensity theatrical lights for their shoots, Penn tended to favour diffused
natural light in his editorial work – his 1961 capture of Leontyne Price
demonstrates the resulting interplay of light and shadow found in so much of
his work, exhibiting a certain softness and intimacy. Yet more impressive is
that this technical mastery extended beyond the studio and into the darkroom.
His interest in developing and printing peaked in the 70s when he perfected the
platinum printing process, allowing him to produce luminous images with
luxurious textures and which capitalise on the extreme latitude of 120 film.
Knowledge of the entire process finally afforded Penn full control over his
creative output, from the moment he loaded the film to the appearance of the
final print. The monochromatic simplicity shines through in particular when
capturing the abstract lines of Issey Miyake’s stunning garments in the 90s,
further blurring the previously well-established boundaries between commercial
and fine art photography.
Penn’s own New York studio saw him
expand his practice to include still lifes, which became his point of focus in
his twilight years and reflected a growing fascination with mortality. He
nevertheless continued to shoot features for Vogue and was credited with 165
cover images, more than any other photographer in history. Despite these
monumental achievements, Penn remained modest until his final days. Renowned
for his softly spoken and shy manner, he preferred to let his work speak for
itself.
With his discerning eye, technical
prowess and indiscriminate approach to his craft, Penn undoubtedly ranks among
the most important photographers of the last century. 103 years after he was
born, his pioneering approach to photography both in and out of the studio
continues to influence and inspire. Many of the most prominent fashion
photographers working at the moment have expressed their gratitude to Penn, and
the echoes of his creative process will continue to remain visible for years to
come.
There are any number of qualities people tend to associate
with high fashion. “Glamour” springs to mind. “Elegance”, perhaps.
“Innovation”? Sure. These are virtues on which the industry depends and which
it must continue to extol. But it is rare, and mournfully so, that “joy” or
“fun” are associated with or even applicable to designer collections. “Glee” might
be pretty far from your mind as another glaringly stony-faced model storms down
the runway, leather-bound, to the accompaniment of some crushing techno.
That the fashion world takes itself too seriously is a
commonly held stereotype, and there is undoubtedly truth to it: a glance along
the front row of the average catwalk will make you sure of that. Shows usually
try to inspire awe rather than to charm, perhaps understandably so. Even when
we’re not dealing with the apocalyptic visions of a Rick Owens or the unerring
monochromes of a Demeulemeester at one end of the spectrum, the desirability
most designers want to lend to their garments tends to manifest itself in more
restrained looks. Not that this is a problem, or, indeed, a surprise: most
people (myself included) buy clothes because they look good, not because they
betray any spirit of irreverence. And clothes certainly can have a great deal
of character without being fun. The fashion industry is by no means
unforgivingly austere, but it can sometimes feel like it lacks the ability to
laugh at itself. Those designers whose work relies on that ability, then, are
all the more refreshing.
“Fun” is a difficult quality to identify in clothing, more
of an attitude than an aesthetic or a colour scheme, but a “fun” collection
invariably conveys the personality of its creator with a rare candidness. It
can be unabashed and in-your-face, as the designs of Walter Van Beirendonck
have consistently been for the better part of four decades. Never one for the
reserve of his famous fellow graduates from Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine
Arts, Walter’s overblown madcap style is one of the most instantly recognisable
in fashion: garish colour clashes are a must; bizarre proportions are the norm;
untethered eccentricity is king. His description-defying Fall/Winter 2020
collection featured suits and shoes adorned with dinosaur spikes, sweatshirts
with enormous teddy bears protruding from them, shirt collars reaching halfway
up the models’ faces, and pattern clashes that would put any 90s Premier League
kit to shame. It’s never forced or gimmicky or trying to be anything other than
self-expression, and the rousing slogans bejewelled onto 15 cardboard cut-out
t-shirts which closed the show feel like impassionedly personal statements
rather than lame attempts at virtue signalling.
But perhaps Walter is a bit of an obvious pick for someone who “does” fun. He lies at the other extreme, one whose vernacular does not include subtlety and for which restraint never even enters the conversation. The most recent collection from Issey Miyake’s Homme Plissé line feels positively humdrum in comparison, with its interesting but not out-there cuts and simplistic colour-blocking, yet it was a consummate demonstration of how to make clothes that resonate a carefree spirit without attracting gawks. The colours were bright, the proportions relaxed, the patterns, when there were any, either pleasingly geometric or breezily abstract. The show itself was the most infectiously feel-good of this season’s menswear, more of the looks worn by the performing jazz band, who played something resembling a film noir soundtrack, and acrobatic dancers rolling around in Cyr wheels than by actual models, and even a good number of those models were grinning as they walked. It was a testament to how well a show can emblematize the mood captured by the clothes it exhibits, and in this case that mood was one of gaiety.
In terms of poking fun rather than inspiring it, none can be
relied upon to step back and have a laugh at the industry as a whole like Demna
Gvasalia can. His work at Balenciaga has provoked more widespread internet outcry
that that of any other designer currently working, from F/W 2018’s infamous
“shirt shirt”, a button-up attached to the front of a t-shirt, to his Bernie
campaign rip-offs, to his £1,700 version of the 40p IKEA bag. This season, the
first Vetements collection produced without him at the helm carried on his
spirit, modelled by E-list knock-offs of the likes of Mike Tyson, Kate Moss,
and Snoop Dogg, and featuring grungy tutus, leather takes on crumpled brown
paper bags, and jeans with “CENSORED” plastered
over the crotch. Yet one often gets the impression that Vetements might be
trying to be a bit more serious than they let on, so earnest are their attempts
at subversion. Their ridicule is tongue-in-cheek but quite consciously tries to
find for itself a place in the pantheon of “cool” in a way in which a true
eccentric like Van Beirendonck does not. That even those who mock luxury
fashion struggle to do so without still conforming to many of its standards is
a clear marker of its inhibitive nature.
But fun can feature in a more nuanced and playful way, too, as is the hallmark of much of Jonathan Anderson’s work. His most recent menswear collection for J.W. Anderson was unquestionably a sophisticated affair, full of memorable overcoats and compelling silhouettes, but nonetheless one shot through with quirk. Enormously blown-up gold link chains of varying magnitudes adorned the loafers and fronted much of the outerwear in a strikingly artisanal take on bling, while puffy paisley coats and scarves resembled duvets snatched from a retirement home and balloon-animal constructions respectively. Ruffles and pearls made for natural feminine flourishes, and baseball-cap leather bags were all the more covetable for their charm. That the collection was largely inspired the AIDS crisis as depicted in 1970s New York by David Wojnarowicz reveals that its spirit is just as much an exploration of beautiful clothing’s ability to betray the fear and horror of real life as it is an exercise in playful design. As Walter Van Beirendonck’s planet-positive sloganeering has already shown, fun and solemnity are not incompatible as fashionable bed-mates.
Anderson’s work as creative director of Loewe has proved that charm can sell, too. In the seven years since his taking over, he has transformed what was once a stuffy, past-it luxury house still pandering to its former clientele of geriatric aristocracy into one of the more innovative and desirable labels in fashion today. And how, exactly, has he done it? With elephant, panda, and otter-shaped bags which are more cute than cool, with the fantastic pottery designs of William De Morgan, and with gloves knitted into the shape of claws, apparently. The crossover of irreverent personality with sound aesthetic is one which can yield serious commercial results. Rick Owens, take notes.
I didn’t want to
go on a year abroad at all. I remember telling my mum at the end of second year
that if I had the option I would much rather just do another year in Oxford. I
thought I thrived off the fast-paced Oxford lifestyle and I was terrified at
the prospect of having to spend so much time alone (because how on earth was I
going to make friends in a big city?!) At the end of September, I stepped on
the train to Berlin alone, all my belongings for the next six months packed
into two big suitcases.
The first hurdle
to overcome was finding somewhere to live. I should have realised there was
something not quite right about my flat in Berlin when I saw my landlord’s
Facebook name was Captain Jo. Handing him €1000 in cash when I first met him
also should have been a bit of a red flag. But everyone had told me how hard it
is to find somewhere to live in Berlin so I just went along with it. To work
and live legally in Berlin you need a proof of residency letter from your
landlord. Now, as you might have guessed, not everything in my flat is quite
legal, so all of my Whatsapps to my landlord asking him for this letter were
left on read for two weeks. Whilst my friends in Oxford were stressing about
the first deadlines of Michaelmas, I spent two weeks stressing about if I was
going to be living in Berlin illegally and unemployed for six months. Luckily,
after crying to my landlord, I managed to persuade him to let me legally
register. The experience was a bit of a reality check at the start of the year
abroad – I definitely wasn’t in the Oxford bubble anymore!
As you can
imagine, for those first two weeks I wasn’t all too happy about being forced to
adult in a European city all by myself. But then things gradually started to
shift – adulting, figuring out the slightly hectic and huge city of Berlin and
trying to find my way in a different language became fun and actually kind of
funny. I accidentally got stuck in a fire escape when meeting some new friends
on a bar that was hidden in a parking garage (it’s Berlin, of course the bar is
hidden in a parking garage), I told a shop keeper that I needed to “lift some
money” when I tried to tell her I needed to get some cash out and I’ve lived with
a slightly odd Australian guy who constantly walks around the flat stoned in
his boxers.
I’ve somehow
managed to make a home for myself in Berlin. Making friends was surprisingly
easy, the baristas in my favourite café know my name and bring me free drinks
and, thanks to my internship, texts that I helped translate and edit are now up
in art galleries and magazines around Berlin. Like a true Berliner, I know
exactly what you mean when you say the words Club Mate, Späti, Sisyphys and
Kotti. I actually even got invited to a techno party in the woods.
I’m writing this
article on the train from Berlin to Munich, on the way to visit another friend
on her year abroad. I can’t help but feel a little bit sorry for my friends
stuck in Oxford worrying about essay deadlines, whilst I spend my weekend
travelling around Europe. But not only that, I’m grateful that I’ve had the
chance to grow up a bit, away from Oxford, get some actual life experience, and
be able to call myself a (bit of a) Berliner.
YAROSLAVL – Ffion Kellegher
I was so
excited to go on my year abroad, it seemed almost too good to be true – an
entire year purely dedicated to travel and learning languages! Could there
possibly be anything better? Everybody kept telling me that it would be one of
the best times of my life, that I would have such a great experience and that
it would give me the chance to start feeling good again about my life, after
years of feeling down. Having now returned from both Russia and Spain, I can
certainly claim that my year abroad was the experience of a lifetime, but it
was far from what I expected it to be.
After barely
surviving my first year at Oxford, I looked to my year abroad as a sort of
saving grace, a chance to recover from the year that had passed and the
isolation to which I had subjected myself. Let us establish one thing: the ab
initio Russian course is certainly not for the faint-hearted. But that’s
another story. For now, let’s talk about Yaroslavl.
Naturally,
the preconceptions of Russia consist of lethal spies, hilariously direct
people, vodka-drinking until dawn and brutal winter temperatures. I was
disappointed to discover that only the latter revealed itself to be objectively
true in the city of Yaroslavl, where I walked to school every day in
temperatures reaching -25 degrees Celsius.
Travelling
across Russia was an incredible experience. Our first trip was a an 8-day train
journey, starting in Yaroslavl and heading on to Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan,
Yekaterinburg and Perm. We also visited the ‘ice’ caves of Kungur which sadly
had no ice, since winter had not yet fully begun. This holiday was honestly
unforgettable. In Nizhny Novgorod, we witnessed the scintillating beauty of the
city at night, from the heights of the Kremlin on a hill, gazing upon the dark,
dead Volga river which cut through the city like a black knife. In Kazan, we
wandered through the breath-taking blue and white Mosque, browsing the market
of handmade goods and once again looking down on the glorious city from a
height. We then visited the museum of Soviet lifestyle; this was equipped with
old military outfits and many funky trinkets which caught our eager travellers’
eyes. After dressing up as Russian soldiers and having a wacky photoshoot, we
headed for a delicious dinner of cheap but mouth-watering Uzbekistani cuisine.
As we entered Yekaterinburg, snow began to fall. We were delighted with this
wintery aesthetic, looking truly magical as blankets of white clung to the fir
tree forests. Visiting the death-place of Tsar Nikolay was both wonderful and
terrifying. We were the only visitors. The only other people in the place were
solemn monks, who silently ghosted the monasteries and buildings. On top of
this, the ringing of bells throughout our visit was almost constant, and in the
otherwise dead silence, it sounded haunting and eerie. This trip was one that I
will never forget, and at this point I hadn’t regretted a single moment of
coming to Russia and continuing the Russian course.
Then, winter
hit. Real Russian winter. At first the snow was just pretty to look at from
inside, when you felt all warm and cosy. It was like the Christmas that
everyone dreams about in songs and stories. But when I had to walk to
university for 40 minutes every day, I began to hate life in Yaroslavl. I was
too afraid to take the bus due to bad past experiences with Russian public
transport (I had gotten the wrong bus and become completely lost 3 times!). I
began to really feel like a character from one of Dostoevsky’s novels,
wandering around in a cold, dark, harsh city. Life became gloomy as I sat at
home all day, wondering whether I could face walking to university tomorrow. We
began to drink frequently, buying up the local supermarket’s alcohol supplies
and becoming expert cocktail-makers. At this point, I knew I was getting the
full Russian immersion experience.
Fortunately,
I had rented an apartment with some other students and this gave us a space to
host events and thus to continue having a social life. That said, under Russian
law, if too much noise is made after 11pm the neighbours have the right to call
the police. Let’s just say, we met many policemen in Yaroslavl. But this didn’t
worry us, the police turned out to be friendly and easy-going. I remember one
time when they came due to a noise complaint, they asked me where I was from, I
replied that I was from Ireland. ‘Ah! Connor Macgregor!’ was the reply. Of
course, I was used to this – it was the only reply that I ever got when I mentioned
Ireland.
The Russian
‘friends’ that I had made never texted me, and I started to feel like all of my
interactions with them had just been fake. The harsh, rude disposition of
Russian shopkeepers started to deeply get to me, as I so badly longed for a smile
or a joke or dare I say it, a laugh. I needed light and something happy in my
life at that time but every visit to the supermarket or any other store greeted
me with a rough voice and a glare. Travelling no longer appealed to me as I was
now on a tight budget, while I also deeply hated Russian trains. Let me
elaborate on this. Russian trains do not have proper air conditioning. Despite
the fact that it was winter, the trains were submerged in the suffocating heat
and stench of human bodies. The toilets…. I won’t go there. The second-class
carriages consist of about 30 beds all packed tightly into a small space.
Walking through this carriage to reach the dining car (which rarely actually
served food) or the toilet, one would have to dodge the bare feet, hanging off
the edge of the short, compact beds.
Overall, in
spite of my initial excitement to live in Russia, I began to feel
claustrophobic and frustrated during the last few months of my time there.
Living with my friends alleviated this difficulty tremendously. Despite the
situation, we would cheer each other up, drinking cocktails, telling random
stories and dancing around the kitchen table like crazed lunatics from a
musical theatre show. I think it is safe to say that we all lost a bit of our
sanity in Russia.
BARCELONA
I left
Yaroslavl and headed straight to Barcelona, where I had secured an internship
in an estate agency, working as a Junior Office Manager and having a hand in
accounting as well. I arrived in Barcelona filled with joy. Needless to say,
after bleak Soviet buildings and short cold winter days, the Gaudi architecture
and stunning fiery sunsets of Barcelona were more than welcome to me. My
flatmates were kind and funny, while the atmosphere of the city in general was
just uplifting.
As soon as I
started my internship, however, I knew that something was not right. I noticed
the age of all of the people in the office, which was around 18-23, and hastily
asked how many interns were working there. I was greeted with the answer that
there were about 20 interns and 2 employees, alongside the growing sensation
that everybody hated it there. I met the boss, a racist and eccentric Danish
woman, and soon came to agree with my fellow interns on their feelings about
the company. I was not given any office manager tasks, nor any accounting
duties. This carried on for over a month and then I decided to quit, completing
only two of the five months that I had planned to stay. Yet, being in
Barcelona, going to Salsa bars, jazz clubs and drinking cool beer in rooftop
bars certainly made my time in Spain very enjoyable.
I am so grateful to have had this year abroad. The experiences
that I have had are almost unimaginable and certainly unforgettable. This year
taught me to be more independent, outgoing and determined in what I want to
achieve, who I want to connect with and where I want to go. However, it was not
all fun and games, the loneliness of a year abroad affected many of my
companions, especially those who felt particularly tied to home. It is not at
all easy to organise oneself in a foreign country, make new friends and get
involved in the community. There were certainly moments when my motivation to
do these things faltered, and I started to doubt myself. However, I’m so proud
of myself for what I have done on my year abroad, and despite the many
difficulties I encountered, I feel like I have grown and matured throughout
this year, I have met some incredible people and seen amazing things. Even
though the year abroad was not at all what I was expecting it to be, it all
turned out well in the end and I now take great pride in saying, from the
comfort of my Oxford home, that I survived a Russian winter.
