What are the chances of two people planning a proposal at the exact same moment without the other knowing? Infinitesimal, yes, but it's not beyond the realms of possibility, as one young couple just discovered.
Tori Monaco and Berkley Cade from Austin, Texas, got the surprise of their lives when they realised what had happened – and the priceless moment was captured in a now viral video for the world to see.
Monaco had planned to pop the question during a family game of Pictionary. When her partner of four years' back was turned, she got down on one knee and held up a ring box for Cade to see when she turned around – "Hey Berk, will you marry me?” she asked.
Cade was stunned. She froze in total shock before a voice off camera urged, “Show her Berk. Show her!" She then whipped out her own ring with which she had been planning to surprise Monaco.
After 4 LONG months of keeping this secret.. turns out Tori McKynzi Marie Monaco was keeping one too. I cannot wait to marry the woman of my dreams. I love you forever baby.💍 https://t.co/TgoBKvDuYM
They both said yes and their family and friends can be heard whooping and clapping in the background. Monaco was so shocked that she exclaimed: "What?! This is a joke! This is a set-up!”
The lovebirds both took to Twitter and Instagram to tell the story of the romantic moment, sharing photos of the rings. “I planned a proposal for months... little did I know she planned one too!” tweeted Monaco.
Meanwhile her wife-to-be wrote: “After four LONG months of keep this secret... turns out Tori McKinzi Marie Monaco was keeping one too. I cannot wait to marry the woman of my dreams. I love you forever baby.”
The wedding is planned for 27th September 2019, the couple told Buzzfeed News, adding that they were grateful for the support on social media, "We are beyond humbled by our relationship," said Monaco. "Having so many people support us and find inspiration and happiness in our successful, loving relationship is so amazing."
She said the possibility of marriage was there between them from the start: "We are each other's first same-sex relationship, so we were blown away by our ability to connect with each other immediately and find the happiness we had been looking for."
Three billboards have appeared outside the charred remains of Grenfell Tower, west London, in homage to the 71 people confirmed to have died in the devastating fire on the 14th June 2017.
The large red and black billboards, attached to three roving lorries, were also spotted outside St Paul's, Parliament Square and other locations across the capital on Thursday morning. They are a recreation of the posters in the Oscar-nominated Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
Survivors of the fire and members of the local community in west London gathered around the billboards to mark the event.
They read: "71 dead." "And, still no arrests?" "How come?"
In the film, Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand) plasters three billboards with notices addressing local police following the rape and murder of her daughter, to ask why justice has not been done. "Raped while dying." "And still no arrests?" "How come, Chief Willoughby?," they read.
Wow. Pop culture deployed on the streets. 3 (moving) billboards in London, England for #justiceforgrenfell. All the names we could fill in to complete the question “how come?”... pic.twitter.com/5iNfveE4V2
The stunt was organised by Justice 4 Grenfell, a community-led organisation seeking justice for the bereaved families, survivors, evacuated residents and the local community in the aftermath of the tragedy.
"Eight months on from the tragedy of the Grenfell Tower, the issue is being ignored," reads a statement on the campaign's website. "71 people died in the Grenfell Tower. And still no arrests. And still 297 flammable towers. And still hundreds of survivors are homeless. And still they are not represented on the inquiry. And still there is no justice.
"These 3 billboards are here to keep this tragedy in the national conscience, to make our voices heard. And our voices call for change to a system that kills. And our voices demand justice for Grenfell."
Campaign supporters are being urged to retweet, share and talk about the ingenious act, which has been roundly applauded on social media, suggested it has succeeded in bringing the tragedy back into public consciousness.
There are currently 3 vans driving around central LDN with 3 Billboards style posters on the side about Grenfell. Couldn’t get a picture but all of the yes 👌🏻
An Iranian-American fashion blogger was told she didn't "sound American" and asked about nuclear weapons during a TV interview about fashion – and the video of her well-informed response has gone viral.
Hoda Katebi, 23, who blogs at JooJoo Azad, was asked to appear as a guest on Chicago’s WGN News morning show to talk about her book, Tehran Streetstyle. The interview began with a discussion about Katebi's childhood in Oklahoma, a predominantly white and conservative state, as a woman who wears a hijab, and women's fashion in Iran, before one of the hosts swooped in with an incongruous geopolitical question.
Watch the clip below (the interview takes a turn at about 3:28).
“Let’s talk about nuclear weapons," host Larry Potash said. "Some of our viewers may say we cannot trust Iran. What are your thoughts?”
Katebi, who studied international relations and Middle Eastern politics at the University of Chicago, had a measured response despite being slightly taken aback. “I don’t think we can trust this country [the US]... I am a pacifist, I don't believe in violence. But also when we look at the legacy of imperialism and colonisation in the Middle East and we see the legacy of this country and the violence that it has not only created but also created the capacity for, a lot of these weapons in the Middle East are completely brought in by the Unites States.”
Host Robin Baumgarten then told Katebi: “A lot of Americans might take offence to that. You’re an American, you don’t sound like an American when you say [this] … you know what I mean.”
To which Katebi replied: "That’s because I’ve read," adding that it was important people "look beyond these simple narratives that we’re told, whether it’s about Muslim women or the legacy of the country knowing that this country was literally built on the backs of black slaves and after the genocide of indigenous people."
Iran does not have nuclear weapons and pledged to limit its nuclear energy program in 2015, which some world leaders feared would enable it to build a nuclear weapon.
Katebi has since addressed the interview on social media, criticising the hosts' line of questioning on Instagram. She said being told she "didn't sound American" was a loaded statement towards a "visibly Muslim woman on live TV, pushing every stereotype of 'other', 'foreign', and 'incompatible with America' that Muslims are so systematically characterised as.
"I was born in this country yet they demand I am suspicious of my Iranian-ness but unquestionably patriotic of America. The double standards are wild."
She also addressed the subject on her blog, claiming "hindsight is always 20/20" and that she "should have just stopped [Potash] right there and questioned why he thought it was okay to make this ridiculous comment and pose it as a question". But in the heat of the moment, she added, she was "too excited to answer the question than question his premises."
"[It was] Nothing to do with what we are talking about and yet, I'm forced to take up a role as an expert on all things related to Iranian politics – a position I know other POC/Muslims have found themselves in if they have ever been the token Muslim on a panel or interviewed about their work.
"The title they gave me on the show was 'fashion blogger', yet here I am being asked about nuclear weapons. Would they ever bring on a white chef to their show and then ask him about Brexit or his thoughts on the rise of white supremacy?"
Many people have shown support for Ketabi on social media and criticised the hosts' line of questioning.
Breh. What just happened?
A fashion blogger presumably being interviewed about such, is suddenly asked about nuclear Iran, gives a thoughtful critique, is told she doesn't sound like an American, gives thoughtful response, and then we're back to fashion. pic.twitter.com/CHFrsBAFd6
She’s a fashion blogger. But because she’s Iranian and Muslim, her interviewers asked her to talk about foreign policy and nuclear weapons. 🙄 pic.twitter.com/onciEftW5v
If a white fashion blogger went on television they would not ask her about nuclear weapons.. Why does a girl in a hijab have to be ready 24/7 to defend herself and her religion?? https://t.co/5TfQtdjYen
With just under a month to go until the actual ceremony, the 2018 Academy Awards already feel momentous.
For the first time since 2013, a woman (Greta Gerwig, for Lady Bird) is nominated in the Best Director category, alongside a Black man (Jordan Peele, for Get Out). Both of their films are also nominated for Best Picture, sharing that honour with a lush tale of first love between two men (Luca Guadagnino's Call Me By Your Name).
Mary J. Blige, nominated for Mudbound, is the first Black woman to be nominated in multiple categories in the same year (for Best Supporting Actress and Best Song.) Dee Rees, who directed the film, is the first Black woman to be nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay. Rachel Morrison, nominated for her Mudbound cinematography, is the first woman ever to be compete in that category. A Fantastic Woman was tapped for Best Foreign Film, recognising an achievement by a trans actress for the first time. And Octavia Spencer, nominated for Best Supporting Actress for The Shape of Water, is the first Black actress to follow up a win with two more nominations.
But all these firsts, while cause for celebration, are also an opportunity to reflect: Why has it taken so long? And how far do we have left to go?
To answer those questions, it's helpful to look at the make-up of the industry body that actually makes the decisions that lead to people vying for little gold men on the most glamorous night of the year. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organisation responsible for voting and choosing who is nominated for an Oscar, is comprised of over 7,000 members across 17 branches of film. (In 1927, when the Academy was founded, there were 293 filmmakers representing five branches.)
Recent Oscar history has been characterised by the #OscarsSoWhite movement, which called out the Academy for not nominating a single person of colour in any acting category for two consecutive years, 2015 and 2016. 2017 showed mild improvement, with seven actors of colour nominated, matching the high from 2007.
In order to understand what shifted in 2018, let me direct you to the members inducted last June. 2017 marked the biggest class ever admitted, with 774 new members, from 57 countries. (There are a lot of numbers headed your way, so brace yourself.) It was also the most diverse class in the Academy's history: women made up 39% of new members, 30% were people of colour. In fact, from 2015 (the first year of #OscarsSoWhite) to 2017, there has been a 359% increase in women invited to join.
Photo: Courtesy of The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
While that's an impressive number, it's dampened by the fact that women still only make up 28% of total members, despite making up 50.8% of the US population.
In 2015, people of colour made up only 8% of total Academy membership. That number has now jumped to 13%. Given that studies project that "minorities" will become the majority of the US population by roughly 2043, that number, while a sign of progress, is still pretty low.
Photo: Courtesy of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
So, while it looks like the Academy is finally motivated to redress the wrongs of the past, the problem is far from solved.
In the last couple of months, Hollywood has had to face some hard truths about a systemic power imbalance that left many of its women vulnerable to harassment and abuse. Conversations are finally being had about how the industry can better support and empower women in their jobs, but also about how to close the gap. Women need to be able to direct, to produce, to manage, to represent, and to vote without it being worthy of a headline. Until that happens, even the most glass-half full kind of news will remain disappointing.
Greta Gerwig is only the fifth woman ever to be nominated for Best Director, an award that only one woman has won in the Oscars' 90-year history. Jordan Peele is only the fifth person of colour to be nominated. No woman of colour has gotten the nod (Dee Rees, a solid contender, was notably snubbed this year), and no person of colour has won.
They deserve our cheers and our support come Oscars night. But let them also be a reminder of the work that still needs to be done.
Since the Marchesa brand first debuted in 2004, it has often been described by notable fashion critics in the exact same way: as a fairytale, for princesses, and a celebrity red carpet favourite. Hardly a review fails to make these three references, despite the many inspirations and themes designers and co-founders Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig have cited, including heiress Marchesa Luisa Casati, the woman the brand was named for. Marchesa has created gowns for Miss Havisham-type Victorian princesses (fall ’11, later worn by Penelope Cruz at the Cannes Film Festival), Japanese princesses conceived by ‘20s explorer Aimee Crocker (spring ’18, later worn by Julianne Hough at the Emmys), and Neoclassical princesses painted by artist William-Adophe Bougeuereau (fall ’12, later worn by Kristen Stewart at the premiere of Snow White and the Huntsman). Perhaps more than any other designer of the past decade, Marchesa is best-known for consistently dressing our equivalent of princesses — brides, socialites, and celebrities — as the heroines of our modern-day fairy tales.
Penelope Cruz at the Cannes Film Festival on May 14, 2011.Photo: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images.
This connection is no accident. When you consider that Chapman was married to Harvey Weinstein, who has long been said to have buoyed the fashion company both financially and strategically, and whose recent and takedown exposed the dark ways our real-life princesses have been victimised, it’s hard not to reconsider Marchesa’s role in a post #metoo world. Not a single movie star has worn its designs on the red carpet since October, the brand canceled its fashion show during this season’s New York Fashion Week, and Chapman herself has stayed relatively quiet about the future of her label. “My heart breaks for all the women who have suffered tremendous pain because of these unforgivable actions,” she toldPeople, announcing her separation from Weinstein. But neither Chapman nor Craig have said anything about the movement at large — or Marchesa’s role within it. The rest of us are left to question whether Marchesa’s hyper-feminine gowns, ones that are so closely linked to her estranged husband, can continue to exist. Is there a future for Marchesa without Weinstein? And, if so, what will it look like?
For all the talk about how Weinstein masterminded everything in his life, the accusations about his involvement with Marchesa are not entirely fair. Of course, it makes sense why people would say that: The primary investors are his friends, The New York Times reported he made “timely contributions” to the company, and Fortune wrote that Weinstein used company credit cards to advance himself $75,000 for Marchesa dresses he gave away as gifts to a business acquaintance. But Chapman and Craig have long claimed that Weinstein was not involved in Marchesa, and based on multiple interviews with people previously involved with the brand prior to #MeToo, it became clear that Weinstein had little impact on the actual clothes.
One former employee told me that in the many years they saw Weinstein at Marchesa shows backstage, the only design recommendation he made was to increase the heel height from an already high 100 millimetres to a nearly unwalkable 125. “The standard height of a heel that is considered to be very high is 110,” clarifies stylist Nicole Chapoteau. “It does not surprise me that a man who completely disrespects women as a sport would demand such insanity. I consider those shoes for sitting.”
A detail from Marchesa's spring '18 collection.Photo: Peter White/Getty Images.A look from Marchesa's spring '18 collection.Photo: Antonio de Moraes Barros Filho/FilmMagic.
Another told me that even his attempts to influence the pricing, waste cost, and logistics were performative — his threats were never taken seriously. It was Chapman, Craig, and Chapman’s brother, Marchesa CEO Edward Chapman, who ran the show.
When it came to public relations, Weinstein did not have much of a presence beyond attending the show. Though two New York-based fashion editors responsible for red carpet round-ups told me they felt an exaggerated pressure from PR representatives to place Marchesa credits higher up in slideshows and in more prominent positions in the paper, it did not seem to be a policy dictated by Weinstein. I spoke with three former PR representatives who were either directly or tangentially responsible for Marchesa accounts who acknowledged that certain publications — New York papers like The New York Post and New York Daily News, along with WWD, Vogue, and celebrity weeklies — were prioritised, but that was the case for any fashion client who relied on red carpet placements for coverage. One former director, who asked to remain anonymous because she wasn't at license to discuss the brand, told me that any PR-client relationship is built on tit-for-tat expectations, and though Weinstein’s clout did earn Marchesa preferential treatment at times, it was in ways they would also extend to other clients, for other reasons.
But what Weinstein did contribute was key to Marchesa’s red carpet ubiquity and status as a household name. Many outlets throughout the years have reported that Weinstein bullied his star actresses into wearing Marchesa to key red carpet appearances, threatening to withhold funding for current projects, or promising favourable future ones. Weinstein was a direct conduit between designer and celebrity, and because of this, Marchesa has been a red carpet staple since the very beginning despite never having been seen as culturally relevant in ways that other red carpet brands, like Calvin Klein, Rodarte, or Christian Siriano, have been.
That connection made the brand relevant by default, even if the designs were not. One of the most curious things about Marchesa was that its particular type of hyper-feminine point of view has never really been cutting-edge, which gave it the unusual quality of always being in style without ever actually being on trend. A Marchesa dress was objectively beautiful — it was palatable enough for boring men, and imaginative enough for the fashion set. Essentially, it was the style equivalent of an Instagrammable piece of avocado toast.
Harvey Weinstein and Anna Wintour at a Marchesa show in February 2017.Photo: Theo Wargo/Getty Images.
It’s this aesthetic worldview — this insistence that women are best (and win) when they appear like princesses — that makes it so hard to disentangle Weinstein’s spectre from Marchesa, even if he never had much to do with the look and feel of the gowns, and is no longer associated with the brand. At the end, the women Marchesa dressed are the same women Weinstein preyed upon, sometimes quite literally. In Marchesa dresses, women become women who please men, whose clothes are only appropriate for fairytale events, and whose shoes give the illusion of stature and poise, but the reality of paralysis.
This type of glamor and beauty are undoubtedly Chapman and Craig’s own artistic inclinations (Craig told The New York Times in 2007 that “we make the kinds of dresses that we want to wear.”) — it did not come from Weinstein, and he had nothing to add to or subtract from it. But it would also make sense that Weinstein would feel at home within this worldview.
Since #MeToo, things have changed. Workplaces around the country have palpably been affected. The balance of power has shifted. The assumptions surrounding sexism are different. Chapman’s own life has been affected by this — she’s filed for divorce, and Weinstein is no longer involved in business operations at Marchesa. But it would certainly mean something if Marchesa’s aesthetic hasn’t changed. In a way, the first post #MeToo-designed Marchesa collection would be a window into what the world would be like without men like him. That is, if Marchesa even has a future in a post-Weinstein world.
On one hand, Marchesa seems to still be selling well with brides, which makes sense. But on a larger scale, it’s hard to tell without seeing the collection to know whether the designers believe a post-Weinstein world is any different philosophically than a pre-Weinstein one. It’s my suspicion that their future will have much less to do with their obvious skill, enthusiasm, and care they exhibit as designers, and much more to do with whether fairy tales still hold any magic for women. If Chapman and Craig are to move forward, they have to break the pattern of creating collections that can be described as a fairytale, for princesses, and a celebrity red-carpet favourite. Without Weintstein, the latter might naturally occur. But the first two say something about whether Chapman and Craig understand their place within #MeToo, and whether they see the events that took place as just personal, or cultural, too.
Weinstein flipped a switch, and the Potemkin village of our celebrity industrial complex, our workplaces, our government, and our society was suddenly exposed for what it really was: a man’s world, despite our being in it. It wasn’t a fairy tale after all. It was quite the opposite.
Of course, there are still women, communities, and societies for whom the curtain hasn’t yet been lifted. But for the rest of us, considering all we know, to insist that a world under Weinstein would still be fantastical would be a hard sell.
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On Wednesday, Americans were forced to witness another very horrific — yet very familiar — sight: A young man opened fired at Majority Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, killing at least 17 students and faculty members.
The suspect, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, was kicked out of the school for "disciplinary reasons" and reportedly had a history of posing with guns on social media, killing animals, and domestic violence, according to the Boston Globe.
Unfortunately, this is standard: A (usually) white male with a history of violence, mental illness, and disturbing behaviour is able to get dozens of powerful firearms and unlimited ammo and walk into a school, a church, a cinema or a music festival and massacre people. In this case, the FBI was reportedly even warned about Cruz's behaviour last year.
But on Thursday morning, rather than offer a thoughtful comment to the victims of the shooting or open up a discussion about how this tragedy could've been prevented had Cruz not had easy access to a AR-15 rifle, US President Donald Trump essentially blamed the victims.
"So many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed, even expelled from school for bad and erratic behaviour," Trump tweeted. "Neighbours and classmates knew he was a big problem. Must always report such instances to authorities, again and again!" In a press conference, Trump said he would be meeting with state law enforcement and attorney generals to discuss how to make schools safer. He offered up no ideas on how that would be done besides that we need to "answer hate with love."
President Trump to America’s children: “I want you to know you are never alone and you never will be. You have people who care about you, who love you… Answer hate with love, answer cruelty with kindness.” https://t.co/rBZVCr3djCpic.twitter.com/rFQyrH4wRO
Trump's gaslighting is particularly vile here for several reasons: 17 people are dead despite the fact authorities were appropriately warned about Cruz and Trump himself made it easier for those with a history of mental illness to purchase firearms.
"As a mum of five children, I'm outraged that yet another community has been traumatised by gun violence. This is at least the 18th school shooting this year alone, which is difficult to fathom. And yet, it's our current reality in America," Shannon Watts, Founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, told Refinery29. "It isn't the responsibility of students to keep themselves safe — it's the responsibility of lawmakers to fix our lax gun laws. Gun violence is preventable. Lawmakers blaming victims for their own failures is repulsive. Americans know who's really culpable."
John McCall/Sun Sentinel/TNS/Getty Images
Trump is doing what he's done many times before: Blaming the victim, not addressing the root of the bad behaviour, then offering platitudes of "thoughts and prayers" — but no real plan of action.
Trump may have said that he wants to make schools safer, but in reality his party is actively trying to make gun laws even looser, despite warnings from law enforcement officials that more guns on the streets will only put everyone at an even greater risk.
In the days and weeks that follow, Trump and the GOP will quote Bible scripture, they will say now is not the time to talk about gun control and to not politicise the tragedy.
The one thing they won't do, however, is be honest with the American people that they won't be taking meaningful action to curb gun violence.
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At least 17 adults and teenagers were killed after a 19-year-old gunman opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. After the attack, 12 people were found dead inside the school, two outside the building, and one in the street. Two reportedly died later from injuries. Several others remain in the hospital with injuries. This was the 18th school shooting in the U.S. this year alone.
Police identified the shooter as Nikolas Cruz, who had been expelled from the school and whom the FBI was warned about five months ago, CNN reported. He also had a history of abuse toward women, according to students interviewed by The New York Times. He was armed with an AR-15 rifle and “multiple magazines,” police said.
"So many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed, even expelled from school for bad and erratic behavior," President Trump tweeted on Thursday morning. "Neighbours and classmates knew he was a big problem. Must always report such instances to authorities, again and again!" Many criticised this statement for blaming the victims and not offering a meaningful legislative solution.
Ahead are all the victims we know of so far.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Aaron Feis
Football coach Aaron Feis was one of the first identified victims. The school's football team confirmed his death Thursday morning, saying he had died shielding students from gunfire. "He selflessly shielded students from the shooter when he was shot. He died a hero and he will forever be in our hearts and memories," the team wrote on Twitter.
Photo: Courtesy of Aaron Feis’ Facebook.
Jaime Guttenberg
Early on Thursday, student Jaime Guttenberg's father confirmed her death on Facebook, writing, "My heart is broken. ... Hugs to all and hold your children tight."
Photo: Courtesy of Jaime Guttenberg’s Facebook.
Martin Duque
Duque was a 14-year-old freshman. His brother Miguel confirmed his death on Instagram early Thursday. He wrote, “Words cannot describe my pain… I know you’re in a better place. Duques forever man I love you junior!!!”
Photo: Courtesy of @martini._jr.
Gina Montalto
Montalto was a 14-year-old freshman. Friends and family confirmed her death on social media late on Wednesday. “My heart is broken into pieces. I will forever remember you my sweet angel,” Manuel Miranda, her colour guard instructor, told the Miami Herald. “She was the sweetest soul ever. She was kind, caring, always smiling and wanting to help.”
Photo: Courtesy of Shawn Malone Reeder Sherlock’s Facebook.
Chris Hixon
Hixon was the school's athletic director. On Wednesday, the Sun Sentinel reported that he had been shot. Denise Lehtio, the communications director with the school's varsity and junior varsity football program, confirmed his death to CNN. “RIP Chris Hixon,” tweeted Aaron Gonzales, a recruiting assistant for Florida Atlantic University football. “I left Douglas to take a job at a rival school. I came back to watch a lacrosse game to find Chris running the ticket gate. He shook my hand, asked how I was, let me in for free, and said, ‘Once an Eagle, always an Eagle.'”
Photo: Courtesy of Debbi Hixon’s Facebook.
Alyssa Alhadeff
Alhadeff was a 15-year-old freshman. Her cousin Ariella Del Quaglio confirmed her death on Facebook Thursday, writing, "Many innocent souls were taken a few short hours ago. Among them we just got confirmation was my little cousin. My heart is broken."
Photo: Courtesy of Melissa Dibble’s Facebook.
Meadow Pollack
Pollack was a senior who had been planning to attend Lynn University, according to the Miami Herald. Her father confirmed that she had died to the Palm Beach Post. Her friend Gii Lovito wrote on Facebook Thursday: “Please say a prayer for the family of an amazing girl I got to call my best friend growing up, Meadow Pollack. Her life was taken way too soon and I have no words to describe how this feels. Rest In Peace my beautiful angel. You are and forever will be loved.”
Photo: Courtesy of Robyn Maisner’s Facebook.
Peter Wang
“He wasn’t supposed to die. He was supposed to grow old with me. Please share his story,” Wang's cousin Aaron Chen told First Coast News. The 15-year-old was last seen on Wednesday wearing his gray ROTC uniform and holding a door open so others could escape, Chen told the Miami Herald.
Photo: Courtesy of Mark Moll’s Facebook.
Nicholas Dworet
Dworet was a senior who had recently received a swimming scholarship to the University of Indianapolis for the fall. "Nick's death is a reminder that we are connected to the larger world, and when tragedy hits in places around the world, it oftentimes affects us at home," Robert L. Manuel, University of Indianapolis president, told CNN. "Today, and in the coming days, I hope you will hold Nick, his family, all of the victims, as well as the Parkland community and first responders in your prayers."
Photo: Courtesy of @TSAquatics.
Alaina Petty
Petty was 14 years old. “There are no hashtags for moments like this, only sadness,” Claudette McMahon Joshi, Petty’s great aunt, told the Miami Herald. “Our hearts are with them and all the families touched by this tragedy.”
Photo: Courtesy of Claudette McMahon Joshi’s Facebook.
Carmen Schentrup
Matt Brandow, Schentrup's cousin, confirmed her death on Facebook Thursday morning. "With a very heavy heart, my beloved cousin Carmen just passed away in the Parkland High School shooting today," he wrote. "Rest In Peace Carmen, you were the smartest and most intelligible 16-year-old I've ever met! You will be remembered forever."
Several friends mourned Schentrup on social media. “I was in the same classroom as this beautiful soul,” wrote one. “[S]he was so bright and had her whole life ahead of her. She was someone we all praised for her intelligence.” Another wrote, "[Y]our family is forever in my thoughts and prayers. I’m so sorry."
Photo: Courtesy of @supreme._.leader.
Scott Beigel
Beigel was a geography teacher at the high school. Kelsey Friend, one of his students, told CNN that he saved her life as he ushered students inside his classroom when the gunfire broke out. "Mr. Beigel was my hero and he still will forever be my hero. I will never forget the actions that he took for me and for fellow students in the classroom," Friend said. "I am alive today because of him."
Photo: Courtesy of Evan Scott’s Facebook.
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I've always had a complicated relationship with Lunar New Year.
On the one hand, it involves what's possibly my favourite tradition of all time: Every year for the last decade that we've had him, my dog has been the first living creature to cross the threshold of my parents' house on the morning of the New Year, or as it's called in Vietnam, Tết.
My parents always said that it was because dogs are thought to bring good luck (cats, on the other hand, supposedly bring bad luck), and on New Year's Day, whoever walks through the threshold of a house first will set the tone for the rest of the year.
It's my favourite tradition mostly because it's my dog and I love him — and that's probably why it's the only one that's resonated with me. But otherwise, I've always had a hard time connecting to the holiday, and by extension, my culture.
For one thing, it's not a designated national holiday, and as a kid, I didn't understand why it would be a "real" New Year if you didn't get a day to stay home and celebrate like you would on January 1. Since my parents always stressed the importance of school and didn't want me to miss out on anything school-related, getting them to call for a day off for me, even during the most important celebration of our culture, was next to impossible.
And even if my schools ever did acknowledge Lunar New Year, it was usually referred to as Chinese New Year, even though it's celebrated by multiple other cultures. My peers were taught how to make dumplings, and to wish people a Happy New Year by saying, "Gung Hay Fat Choy. " As well-intentioned as my teachers were in acknowledging the holiday, it felt like Vietnamese people weren't really part of that conversation — further adding to the myth that Asians are a monolith, that we're somehow all Chinese.
Plus, when you're a bratty kid, the most fun part of the New Year is receiving "li xi," or small amounts of money that your relatives give to you in red envelopes for good luck.
But now, since I moved from California to New York City a few years ago and don't have a dog (or any of my family) with me, it's taken a little more work to feel connected to Lunar New Year, and my Vietnamese-American identity in general.
I've spoken to several other people of color who've described feeling the same way, that they've also started working harder to reconnect with their culture after moving away from their families. It's sort of like how I've started using the veryNorthern California slang term "hella" way more often after moving out of the Bay Area, as if all the things I thought I'd grown out of or took for granted have become my strongest anchors to my roots.
My parents had always been my bridge to my culture. After all, I can barely even speak Vietnamese now, even though it was the only language I spoke until I was five, until I went to school and had to assimilate as quickly as possible. Now that I'm living in New York City, almost 3,000 miles away from my parents, finding ways to connect to that part of myself has been a bit more of a journey. But maybe that's the point — that identity and culture is something you sometimes have to work for if you want to find an entry point that works for you.
Admittedly, I'm still figuring out what that looks like for me. For the past two years, it's been potluck-style dinners with friends who also celebrate Lunar New Year. And, of course, because the holiday isn't complete without my dog, I'm still finding ways to celebrate with him, even though he might hate me for sending home what he probably thinks is a festive straightjacket.
This year, I'll also be taking the day to actually take part in my neighbourhood's celebrations (I happen to currently live in Chinatown), and to really figure out which of my parents' traditions I can carry on, even when they're not here to hold my hand through them.
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Close your eyes, and imagine you're inside a scene from Greta Gerwig's Oscar-nominated movie, Lady Bird. It's Thanksgiving break and you're with your sorta-boyfriend, your best friend, and a random kid from theater class. You all meet up to smoke (bad) weed, and then go to a concert at New Helvetia Coffee Shop, high for the first time. It starts. You're giddy. You're wearing a beanie. You're Lady Bird-ing it up! And then you see him. Him! That kid from Xavier with the floppy hair and permanent grimace. He's playing the bass with his band, L’Enfance Nue, and looking more nonchalant than ever. You aggressively bob your head — you know you're in trouble.
That right there is one of my favorite scenes in Lady Bird. I think about it a lot — almost as much as I think about Lady Bird's mom, Marion (Laurie Metcalf), breathlessly giggling, "It just makes me laugh!" while handing her husband (Tracy Letts) the cheesiest Christmas gift. It's perfect. And I needed to know more about this playful scene and how the fictional band L’Enfance Nue came to life. To do that, I spoke to Adam Brock, the 29-year-old musician and composer who was called on to join the film at the very last minute. Brock, who admits he was unfamiliar with Gerwig's films, accepted the challenge and ended up creating an instant classic: "Fred Astaire."
I called Brock to hear the backstory behind my favourite song and ringtone (kidding — no one has ringtones in 2018, but mark my words this would be mine), and what it was like to be part of Lady Bird 's crew, even if only for a day.
Refinery29: How did you first get involved in Lady Bird?
"I work for a company that mainly does music for commercials and my boss, who also works in music supervision, did the music for Frances Ha. She recommended me for this job and it was kind of a last minute thing because they needed a song for that scene. They had somebody lined up, and it didn’t really work out so it was a very quick turnaround and I was kinda scrambling. My boss recommended that I try to write something for it."
You said that it was a bit of a scramble. What was the timeline that you were working with to make this song?
"Well, first they were thinking about using a song from a band that I played with, but they wanted it to be rerecorded to fit that scene, so my bandmate and I decided that it wasn’t in our best interest [to do that]. So then they were like 'Well, can you write a song?' So I wrote one. They needed it the next day so I kind of wrote it that night, and sent it over the next day. It actually went pretty smoothly and everyone was happy with it. It was a rare and nice experience, having things go as planned."
Were you given any resources or materials or anything from the script to show you what they wanted?
"They described the scene a little bit, and told me it was a period piece, which is funny to think about now that the ‘90s are history. They told me they wanted something that made sense for high school kids to be playing in a coffee house at that time. They also told me that one of the stars, Kyle, who Timothée [Chalamet] plays, is kind of this cool badass rockstar so they wanted something with a little teenage angst. Other than that I didn’t have much information, but that was enough for me to get what they wanted."
Did you have a song or two in mind when you were writing it?
"I revisited Weezer and Nirvana for some '90s guitar rock inspiration, and other stuff that I liked when I was in high school."
Were you in a band like that growing up?
"Yeah I was. Bands kind of cycle through different styles that they are interested in, but that was definitely one of the phases of my middle school-slash-high school rock band — that kind of alternative rock sound. It was fun to take a trip down memory lane and revisit that material."
How old are you?
"Twenty-nine."
So you weren’t that age in 2001-2002 — you were younger than that.
"Yeah, that was Greta’s high school time period. But [I listened to] that style of music, starting with the grunge stuff and moving through the more ‘90s alternative pop rock."
What was the reaction [on set] when you first played the song? Were you guys playing it live in that scene?
"No. I recorded it in Portland, where I was living at the time, and had a friend play drums on it. They did have an idea of the instrumentation in the scene, so I tailored it to for that. I mixed it to make it sound like it was being played in a crappy café [ laughs]. But then when they shot the scene, they played it over speakers and we just pantomimed. The other fun part of the job was teaching these wonderful actors, who had never picked up a bass or played keyboards, how to convincingly fake perform on them."
How long did it take to teach them that? I feel like that’s a fun thing to pretend to be doing.
"It was really fun and then you realise their job is to convincingly portray things that sometimes are not what they would normally do. I mean — you saw the scene — they really look like they know what they are doing, maybe better than me. I was just on set for the day, so we had a couple hours to run through stuff, like showing them how to hypothetically make a sound on the bass, and here's who you would hold it."
Was there any backstory for the band? Did you make the band name for it? "There is a name. It’s 'Naked Babies' in French — and that was Timothée's idea — L’Enfance Nue."
They told me it was a period piece, which is funny to think about now that the ‘90s are history.
Timothée made it up?
"Maybe it was an inside joke, but I had no idea about that [before I got there]. I just showed up and they had posters and that was our name."
The song mentions Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers — is that an inside joke, too? Or do you just love Old Hollywood? Or were you imagining that was the kind of pretentious stuff they [the characters] would have been into?
"That’s a good question. That was all me and I don’t where it came from."
You were just inspired at the time.
"Yeah, I don’t really know. Songwriting is always funny, and sometimes you have a pretty focused idea, and other times stuff pops up and you follow a little trail. I didn’t really know anything about Fred Astaire or Ginger Rogers, but then I did a little research on them and they had a pretty cool story. That was interesting to model a love song after."
I know you were only there for an afternoon, but did you have any idea that this movie would become this big, and you would have a pretty significant part in an Oscar-nominated movie?
"I don’t know if it’s significant…"
It’s kind of an iconic scene.
"I feel really lucky and honoured. I am not an actor, so it is not something I have pursued, but if you’re going to be in 30 seconds in a movie, it might as well be a really, cool Oscar-nominated one. But I guess I honestly didn’t really know Greta’s work, but since then I have become a big fan. I think people who were involved knew that she was doing great stuff. I think everybody might be a little surprised at how well it has been received."
After seeing it, do you relate to one of the characters the most? Are you a Kyle, Danny, Jonah, or... you?
"I’d probably be me. I thought Kyle kinda got a bad rep. At least he was pretty upfront about everything it feels like… but I thought they were all great."
Yeah there really were no villains, but I guess Kyle was the most…
"How many times have you seen it?"
I have seen it four or fives times, I think.
"Whoa. A few people have emailed me and said, 'Yeah I’ve seen it like six times.' That is really cool that it is catching on."
Lady Bird is out in cinemas now.
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Unfortunately, she also knows just how difficult it can be for the person living with an addiction, since she's experienced it herself. In a revealing Instagram post from two days ago, Cobain shared that she marked two years of sobriety on Tuesday.
"It's an interesting and kaleidoscopic decision to share my feelings about something so intimate in a public forum," she wrote under a video of her gleefully soaking up the sun in Oahu. "The fact that I'm sober isn't really public knowledge, decidedly and deliberately. But I think it's more important to put aside my fear about being judged or misunderstood or typecast as one specific thing."
Cobain admitted that before she made the decision to live a sober lifestyle, she relied on substances "to escape" from life and all of the emotions that come with it.
"It is an everyday battle to be in attendance for all of the painful, bazaar [sic], uncomfortable, tragic, fucked up things that have ever happened or will happen," Cobain wrote. "Self destruction, toxic consumption and deliverance from pain is a lot easier to adhere to. Undeniably, for myself and those around me choosing to be present is the best decision I have ever made. How we treat our bodies directly correlates to how we treat our souls. It's all interconnected. It has to be."
No longer afraid to feel, Cobain said that she would now invest her energy into honouring her "vibrant health and the abundance of happiness, gratitude, awareness, compassion, strength, fear, loss, wisdom, and the myriad of other messy, raw emotions" she feels "constantly."
"As cheesy and cornball as it sounds life does get better, if you want it to," she concluded.
Cobain's message comes at such an important time. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the number of deaths and overdoses in the United States has never been higher. In 2016 alone, CDC Wonder determined that more than 64,000 deaths were attributed to drug abuse. The problem has gotten so bad that the White House declared in October there was a "health emergency" in the US. Though the FDA is working on a "game-changer" drug to help people with opioid addictions, a quick cure could be a ways away.
Fortunately, there are many ways you can help a loved one — or yourself — with an addiction. As Cobain eloquently stated, no one is this alone, and there's always hope for a happier, healthier future.
If you are struggling with substance abuse, please visit FRANK or call 0300 123 6600 for friendly, confidential advice. Lines are open 24 hours a day.
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With the flu making news headlines, and everyone around you taking sick days, you may be grasping at anything that says it will "boost" your immune system. It sounds too good to be true, but is it actually possible to armour your immune system to prevent getting sick? Well, yes and no.
Your immune system is really made up of two parts, the innate and adaptive immune systems, says Rita Kachru, MD, assistant Professor of clinical immunology and allergy at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. The innate immune system is your body's first line of defence, and is made up of your skin, white blood cells, and other substances in your blood. If your innate immune system isn't able to kick a pathogen, then your adaptive immune system (which is composed of defence cells and antibodies) jumps in to fight it.
There are tons of complex factors that contribute to the strength of a person's immune system, and genetics play a big part, says Andrew Murphy, MD, an allergist and immunologist in Delaware County, PA. Broadly speaking, there isn't sufficient data that supports the idea that you can "boost" the immune system you were born with through lifestyle changes alone, according to Dr. Murphy.
That said, adopting certain healthy habits can help your adaptive immune system do its job if and when you get sick, Dr. Kachru says. While these habits definitely can't cure an infection or replace medication, they may give your immune system a leg up.
Consider vitamin C and D supplements.
Dr. Kachru says that if you do anything at all to help your immune system, take vitamin C. Important cells in your immune system, such as T-cells (a type of white blood cell that helps protect from infections), need vitamin C to function. Popping vitamin C supplements or chugging orange juice is not going to cure your cold or keep you from getting the flu altogether, but it may shorten the length of a cold if you get one. Additionally, studies suggest that vitamin D actually activates and mobilises T-cells, so it's crucial for fighting off illnesses.
Get enough sleep.
Studies suggest that when you're sleep deprived, parts of your immune system shut down, making you more susceptible to illnesses. That's because, while you're asleep, your body makes protective proteins that are required to fight an illness, according to the Mayo Clinic. If you don't give yourself enough time to make these proteins, you may not be able to fight illnesses. On the flip side, your immune system functions best when you are getting enough sleep (ideally seven or more hours a night).
Eat soluble fiber.
When your body is confronted with an infection, your immune cells become inflamed, which means that they're fighting that infection. Eating foods that contain soluble fibre will help those cells shift to become anti-inflammatory cells, meaning you'll heal faster, according to a 2010 study. Dr. Kachru also recommends eating fibrous foods to help your immune system. Some foods that contain this particular type of fibre include oat bran, barley, nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, peas, and some fruits and vegetables.
Exercise regularly.
Regular exercise may help your immune system, but it's not clear exactly how, Dr. Kachru says. Some researchers believe physical activity can flush bacteria out of your lungs and throat (although, FYI, you can't "sweat out" a cold). There's also some evidence that suggests that exercise causes white blood cells and antibodies to circulate through your body faster, and therefore could pick up on an illness faster.
Either way, moderate exercise seems to do your immune system some good, but excessive exercise may negatively impact your immune system, Dr. Murphy says. In other words, find ways to be active in your everyday life and through fitness routines that you enjoy, and don't force yourself to get to the gym if you're not feeling it.
Take omega-3.
In studies on mice, omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to prevent inflammation and enhance white blood cell activity. There's reason to believe that taking an omega-3 fish oil supplement may be beneficial for your immune system overall, Dr. Kachru says. Eating fatty fish, like salmon, mackerel, and tuna, is another (delicious) way to incorporate omega-3's in your diet.
Maintain a balanced diet.
Broadly speaking, diet can impact your immune system, Dr. Murphy says. For example, people with severe malnutrition tend to be more vulnerable to infections. There's some evidence that specific nutritional deficiencies (like zinc, selenium, iron, copper, folate, vitamins A, B6, C, and E) may impact immune responses, but "it's not clear how that would translate to to human health in the real world," he says.
There's no reason to go on a crazy diet, though. Your best bet is to just review what you're eating, and make sure it's balanced, which just means you're eating a variety of foods, rather than restricting yourself to (or missing out on) one type of food or food group. "If, for some reason, your diet is deficient in essential vitamins and/or minerals then consider a supplement," Dr. Murphy says.
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When the Las Vegas shooting happened in October, I wrote about how much I loathe and despise the National Rifle Association with every fibre of my being. I wrote about how Republicans don’t give a rat’s ass about your life or my life or any of our lives. I wrote about how the issue isn’t just with the guns themselves but our country’s obsession with violence—particularly gun violence—as a national identity. I wrote about how the vast majority (I’m talking eight out of 10 Americans) agree that certain effective gun control policies should be enacted, but our lawmakers won’t do jack shit—and instead extend gun rights.
And as I sit here now to write something about the horrific shooting that took place at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL on Valentine’s Day, I realise that anything I’d pen would sound almost identical to what I’ve published before.
I’m tired of writing those things. And I’m sure you’re tired of reading them. So let’s cut the crap, because the old system isn’t working here. It’s time for a new approach. And it’s not just saying we’re for more gun control legislation; it’s about saying we’re aiming for a culture that’s blatantly anti-guns.
For almost two decades, Democrats have slowly built up the rhetoric about wanting “sensible gun control” legislation. This sounds great, but there’s a problem when you dig a little deeper: No one can tell you what those three words mean and what policies they point to. Instead, the phrase has devolved to serve the purpose of keeping us from angering Republicans who spew nonsense about why it’s their constitutional right to own dozens of semi-automatic weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition. For example, who are these policies more “sensible” for? Gun owners or people against gun ownership? Eventually, those tiny gaps create larger divisions that often lead to stalemate.
If we’ve learned anything from the past three years, it’s that Americans want a message that’s easy to connect with. There’s a difference between this message, policy stances, and the end game, and on the subject of gun control, liberally minded folks don’t have an overarching rallying cry that’s simple to discern. Meanwhile, the NRA’s own message is a clear one: Guns are for everyone because the Constitution says so. They don’t allow for negotiation, while gun control supporters are all about compromise. The dangerous cycle repeats itself unless we stop it.
What does that entail? Well, I for one am no longer beating around the bush with all of this word salad to make gun owners feel at ease; the right to bear arms is in our Constitution, sure, but the fact is you’re still in possession of an object that could kill me, my family, my friends, and members of my community. As Michael Waldman pointed out, just because you have the right to something doesn’t mean it comes with no strings attached; even constitutional rights have limits.
This flip from putting the onus on non-gun owners to explain their stance on guns to putting that onus on gun owners is indicative of a much larger shift we need to see. And that will come from a conversation about a culture that allows this sort of thing to happen while changing nothing.
Most important, however, is that taking a firmer messaging stance isn’t the end of the road; it’s a starting point for a holistic approach of conversation, action, and negotiation. We can’t talk about stopping gun violence until we also address the people who have these guns and why they feel they need to own them. These include broader discussions about the ties between weapons and things like perceived masculinity and violence against women.
Obviously, demanding immediate action from our representatives and our community leaders is critical. But much like so many other issues in our society, we need to stop skirting around the topic of guns in our day-to-day lives. And I get it: It’s hard to discuss with your uncle why he really needs to own five semi-automatic rifles while living in the suburbs or talk to a friend about why she enjoys hunting on the weekends. But those answers lead to more questions, and eventually, it leads to a warped sense of what we see as “normal.” For example, what actual safety risks does a community pose that explains the need for a weapons stockpile? What are the core reasons why we like hunting as a hobby? What do these things say about how we as a country view privilege, power, and safety?
Over the past 15 months, we’ve all become increasingly comfortable with the fact that we’re going to be very, very uncomfortable for an incredibly long time. And we should be. Our nation has a lot of problems. But none of them—and especially not gun violence, mass shootings, or genocide—magically appeared overnight; they’ve been sitting there, untouched and unexamined, for centuries. Unfortunately, they’re a gigantic part of our nation’s fabric, and we have to reckon with that.
But of all the things to reckon with, I’d say this is one of the most critical. After all, our lives—and yes, that includes your life—are on the line.
Lily Herman is a contributing editor at Refinery29. Follow her on Twitter. The views expressed are her own.
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We’ve all heard the story: fashion week has changed, almost beyond recognition. From a closed-door industry insider event to access-all-areas and live-streamed shows, the once exclusive affair is now available for the world to see, as it happens. For the next few weeks your Instagram feed will be flooded with catwalk images, street style snaps and celebrity-filled front rows.
But for those of us who never got to see behind those industry-only doors, it’s hard to imagine exactly what we missed. What did it feel like to see Gareth Pugh’s debut show, knowing you were experiencing something extraordinary, in the company of fashion’s elite? What did a pre-iPhone-wielding audience look like? And what did everyone make of ‘influencers’ as they began stealing those coveted front row seats, right from under editors’ noses?
We spoke to the industry insiders who’ve watched fashion week evolve over the last decade to find out.
Mandi Lennard, PR guru and founder of Mandi’s Basement An industry legend, Lennard has a kaleidoscopic view of fashion week's history. She cut her teeth as a buyer for Browns in the early '90s, then went on to set up fashion consultancy company Mandi’s Basement. She remembers a simpler time, when a Harrods bus transported editors between shows, rather than an Uber…
On the innocence of fashion week before social media “Awww jeeez, we didn’t know what the hell we were doing when we first did shows – thank god there was no social media! But it’s a totally different dynamic and I'm sure I would have loved it and it would have added subliminal layers to the sensory show experience felt by those outside of the show experience, and opened up a new dimension in what goes on backstage. It’s explosive!”
On the landmark moments that would have exploded had social media existed “I often reflect on key moments that would have taken over the world if we’d had social media back then, such as Gareth Pugh bursting onto the scene at Fashion East and his illuminated finale look, when we sent naked models into the British Fashion Council’s office to demonstrate how J Maskrey’s skin jewellery worked or Vivienne Westwood’s show where Jerry Hall was holding her newborn baby Georgia May Jagger.”
On what everyone thought when bloggers arrived “It seemed as though it was all over-hyped up, but Susie Lau aka Susie Bubble is so enduring as a fashion commentator that the platform it gave her, carved her career path, which is a good thing. She’s a walking, talking poster girl for fashion fabness!”
Susie Lau, founder of Susie Bubble The godmother of blogging as we know it, Ms Lau began documenting fashion week from her own personal platform before that was even a thing. When social media arrived, her career went stratospheric.
On blogging before anyone else was blogging “I guess I was already documenting fashion week in a different way from traditional journalists or editors because I wanted to take my own pictures (even if they were on a crap point and shoot), because I pointedly wanted to capture a personal point of view for my blog.”
On the ‘rambunctious affair’ that was fashion week before social media “As I was only going to shows in London Fashion Week when designers like Gareth Pugh and Henry Holland were just beginning to break through (I have to thank Mandi actually for giving me the opportunity to go to those early shows!), the excitement was palpable. They were rambunctious affairs. Lots of people dressing up, they were present and very involved in the moment and there was also a gratitude for what they were seeing.”
Stefan Siegel, CEO, Not Just A Label The ex-model and CEO of Not Just A Label is another industry bod who’s seen fashion week from every angle, warts and all. He first went to fashion week in September 2008 — when it was little more than “a weird tent” outside London’s Natural History Museum.
On the fashion industry’s first few attempts to use social media “I remember we signed up on Twitter that year but people didn’t really know how to use it. It didn’t allow you to post images; I remember people starting fun hashtags such as #overheardLFW.”
On what he thought of bloggers when they first arrived “I was excited at first, hoping that fashion blogging came to the industry with the same aspirations as in other industries; I was hoping for honest opinions, transparency and an independent voice. What we received was a new level of narcissism paired with a devotion to corporate branding."
On what he misses about pre-social media fashion weeks “Fashion must become an experience again, it has to become smarter to be able to cater to a smarter consumer — who at the moment spends the disposable income on experience-led products such as food, fitness and travel. I don’t want to generalise, there are so many interesting players in the sector right now who deserve more attention — in the meanwhile the champagne in the ballroom of the ‘fashion week’ Titanic will keep on flowing.
Katherine Omerod, Editor & Content Consultant The fashion journalist and former editorial director of Lyst has ridden the wave of change. She remembers a time when the quickest way to get tickets to shows was via fax and fashion credibility was measured in respect, not social media followers.
On the first time Instagram was a thing at fashion week “It wasn’t magazines that started it, it was people with blogs. I remember one of my assistants telling me that I have to get on Instagram and I was like, well I don’t have an iPhone so I’m not going to do it. It took me another two years to see that it was relevant.
On the importance of looking good “You’d go to fashion week and everyone was obsessed with the way you dressed. But it was so closed in your circle. It might help you having that handbag, and help your career in an abstract way because it makes you look well dressed, but it’s not going to suddenly take your career to a whole new level.”
On embracing the change “When I think back to the people I worked with originally, it’s gone two ways. Some people have totally not embraced it and they still do fashion week exactly as they would have done if Instagram had not been invented. Then you have people like me who balance out their professional career with the opportunities that the new world offers.”
On the huge crowds who now gather outside the shows “I understand that it’s a way in, but equally there is something disingenuous about that. Go and get an internship and get a ticket to the show, be involved. Be authentic, if you’re interested in fashion.”
On how fashion week has changed “I don’t think anyone could have predicted how it’s gone. There’s always been shows, particularly American shows, that have been about the razzmatazz. But there’s still shows, if you go to Paris, that aren’t like that. They’re very much still about the clothes and not about who’s on the front row, but they are few and far between.”
Yvan Rodic, street style photographer and Facehunter founder Street style photographer Rodic has attended fashion week for a decade. When he first started the only social media that existed was MySpace and he rarely saw other photographers.
On his first memories of fashion week “We’d ask people for photos and they’d be surprised. It was so not a thing. And there was hardly anyone doing it, there was no competition. Social media was limited, so there was so much less content shared every day. Also the pace was much slower because everyone would go home and upload their photos.”
On how street style has evolved “Between 2008 and 2010 it picked up, because street style was mainly a street thing before, it was mainly people going on the street in areas of Brooklyn and doing their thing. Then when people realised they could go outside fashion shows and sell those pictures to magazines, people began to realise the power. The more they got photographed, the more they got visibility. You can think it's lame or not, but numbers matter.”
Joe Tootal, Model Booker, Models One Before he began working as a booker at Models One, Joe Tootal walked the catwalks as a model. He remembers a time when castings were faxed and an editor’s opinion was the only one that mattered.
On what fashion week was like for models, pre-social media “We’d arrive back at the model accommodation and taped to the reception wall were about 100 schedules for each guy for the next day. Not great if you had a bad season as everyone would read each other’s before their own.”
On what he misses about fashion week before social media “Definitely the surprise of the collection and the ‘insiders’ knowledge. It was always so exciting to tell someone the story of a designer's collection, how they were inspired to create it and where it had come from. These days everyone knows it all already, all you get as a response is 'I know'. It's all so accessible and immediate which for me has taken away some of the magic and creativity, but for brands and sales it makes complete sense.”
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Give or take a month either side, I’ve been single for three years. One thousand and ninety five days of doing whatever I damn well please and shaving only when common decency demands it. If my relationship status were a child, it would be wearing big boy pants by now.
It’s not for want of trying. There have been Tinder dates – many, many Tinder dates – some good, some bad, some as interminable as double maths on a Friday afternoon. There have been colleagues. Friends of friends. Holiday romances. The guy I met at a house party. The guy I met at a bar. The guy I met at a bus stop. As it turns out, how you meet is really neither here nor there; they all ghost you in the end.
So when an email dropped into my inbox, inviting me to participate in a "social experiment" that promised true love in return for divulging some highly personal information to a complete stranger before gazing into his eyes for the duration of your average pop song, I thought: What do I have to lose?
The experiment would be based on a study conducted by Arthur Aron, a professor of psychology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, which explored whether intimacy could be established between two people over a period of 90 minutes during which they ask each other a series of increasingly probing questions, then wash it all down with a pint of 100% proof eye contact. The study is some 20 years old but came to prominence in 2015 via an essay written by Mandy Len Catron for The New York Times' Modern Love column, entitled "To Fall In Love With Anyone, Do This". In the essay, Catron recounts how she and a loose acquaintance spent an evening asking one another those same questions – and subsequently fell in love.
Despite Catron’s endorsement, I’m sceptical. Perhaps it's that very British fear of discussing anything of any consequence with someone you've known inside of five minutes but I find it difficult to believe that enforced (over)sharing can be a substitute for those first tentative weeks of a relationship, where you delicately brush away each other's layers of self-preservation like archaeologists on a dig. Nor can I silence the inner voice that whispers, What if they pair you with someone awful? At most, I hope to come away from the evening with a hilarious anecdote and my dignity intact.
The day of the experiment rolls around and after checking in ("Just like at the airport!" trills the host, somewhat unromantically) I grab a large glass of wine and hover awkwardly in a corner, awaiting kickoff. A half-hour wait stretches into an hour, by which point the bar is littered with single people staring at their phones while simultaneously scanning the room out of the corners of their eyes.
It's time to begin. We line up and everyone is given a number – mine is 42 – and instructed to find the table with the corresponding number, where their partner will be waiting. (I should mention here that the only information I provided on signing up was my age, sexual orientation, and what I was looking for romantically – a casual fling, dating, a long-term relationship.) Bracing myself, I stride confidently into the room. The man sitting at my table is – thank you Jesus – really rather handsome. We shake hands, introduce ourselves and get down to business.
There are 36 questions, divided into three sets, each set designed to be more probing than the last. The questions are available online but I resist the temptation to look them up in advance.
Question one: Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as a dinner guest? I hate this question. I want to say my friends but I'm pretty sure that's not allowed so I find myself embarking on a tortuous (and, frankly, unoriginal) argument that you should never meet your heroes so the wise choice would be to invite someone you detest and before I know it, Katie Hopkins is coming round for Sunday lunch. My partner (let’s call him Mr X) looks confused. This has not started well.
Question three: Before making a telephone call, do you ever rehearse what you are going to say? “Yes, all the time, because I’m deeply socially awkward and find silence over the phone even more excruciating than silence IRL.” Question seven: Do you have a secret hunch about how you will die? “Sleep paralysis. Or a sinkhole.” Question 11: Take four minutes and tell your partner your life story in as much detail as possible.
In her aforementioned essay, Catron makes this remark: “We all have a narrative of ourselves that we offer up to strangers and acquaintances, but Dr. Aron’s questions make it impossible to rely on that narrative.” I beg to differ. Mr X answers this question first and, when it reaches my turn, I follow his lead and talk about my upbringing, school, my parents’ divorce, university, travelling and work. I leave out anything to do with previous relationships. For the first time in the evening, I am editing my response, revising and redacting before I speak. This is where Mr X and I discover we have a surprising amount in common: we went to the same university, we both spent a year in France, we have a similar family dynamic. But I can’t help feeling that I haven’t been entirely honest. Then again, Mr X didn’t mention his romantic history either.
We’re into the second set now and it’s getting rocky. A precedent has been set and from this point on my answers veer from astonishingly frank to not-telling-the-whole-story. Question 18: What is your most terrible memory?
By the time we turn the corner into the final 12 questions, I’ve had three glasses of wine and am feeling chuffed with how this whole social experiment is going. For question 30, we have to share when we last cried in front of another person. I answer honestly that it was at the cinema with a close friend, although, again, I can’t help feeling that a truer answer would have been, "In front of a guy I met on Tinder last year; I was a little bit in love with him but all he wanted from me was sex."
And so we come to the four minutes of eye contact. I'm ashamed to say that Mr X and I agree we don’t want to do it, which technically means we don’t complete the experiment. By this point, though, Mr X has moved his chair to sit beside me and we've swapped numbers.
Fall In Love With A Stranger took place at Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen.
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Celestine Cooney's childhood, growing up near the Hill of Tara in the Irish countryside, riding, fishing and exploring with her siblings, is pretty far removed from her life now as an international fashion stylist and director.
Relocating to London in 2003, after studying a degree in film, followed by a stint as fashion editor for publications in Dublin, Celestine began working at Dazed and Confused magazine, assisting Nicola Formichetti. Leaving the title to forge her own name, Celestine went on to work with brands such as Simone Rocha, Topshop and Levi's while building up an impressive editorial portfolio. Fast-forward to now, and the stylist and brand consultant is a regular contributor to leading publications such as i-D, Teen Vogue, Dazed, and Vogue Japan, and has styled the Preen by Thornton Bregazzi show for the past four seasons.
As London Fashion Week kicks off, we caught up with Celestine at home to discuss cracking the fashion industry, surviving the shows and what an average working day looks like.
Photographed by Morgane Lay & Jonny Cochrane
You did a degree in film but when did you realise you wanted to be a stylist? I don't think I ever realised I wanted to be a stylist, it just happened. I wanted to be a vet when I was a kid, then in my late teens I changed my mind and wanted to be a Blue Peter TV presenter and by the time I finished school I wanted to study film, because I had decided that film was what made me feel the hardest.
What inspired you to pursue styling as a career and how did you get your first gig? I never pursued it in the beginning, it just kept coming back to me. Like a person who asks you out a bunch of times and you don't really have any strong feelings about them but then you end up in love with them almost by accident.
Nicola Formichetti offered me a job and I moved to London to work for him at Dazed and Confused. I guess that's where everything really started. I was the least savvy person in that office; to say I was clueless is an understatement.
What does your average working day look like? Weirdly, I can never answer this question because every day is completely different. It's lucky that I get a kick out of that because in school, when things got dull I'd just fall asleep. It was like a kind of narcolepsy, I had no control over it. So it's a good thing I find my life exciting or I expect I'd spend a lot of time sleeping.
What would be your advice to those trying to break into fashion and styling? Work hard. Apply yourself. Be patient, diligent and kind. Maintain your integrity. Try to not be boring.
Who have been your mentors? I haven't really had mentors but I wish I had.
Travelling constantly, how do you keep a semblance of a social life/normal routine? I had to figure this out because I found it really hard in the beginning, but just taking it one day at a time seems to work. You basically keep overriding the fear of a lack of any kind of institutional structure until you learn to have no expectation of any. Once I made peace with having no routine or schedule I found that I was just free.
Is there a project, show, editorial that you're most proud of? It's usually the last thing I did, so the Acne AW18 Men's show in Paris.
How does your working day change in the run-up to fashion weeks? The days before a show are always intense because you are immersed 24/7 in the collection. It has a groundhog day kind of feeling to it and then it all culminates in the show, which is over in 10 minutes and you feel a bit shellshocked. It's a fairly discombobulating experience. You learn so much doing shows and it is so exhausting but it never gets any less exciting.
Who are your favourite people within the industry to collaborate with and why? I like people who challenge me or make me change my mind about things. People who make me better at what I do by pushing my ideas of how things should be.
Having worked previously as a fashion editor at Dazed, do you think print media will always have a place in fashion? Mostly magazines as a way of publishing news and current information has become redundant. Print publishing is just not fast enough to keep up with social media deliveries, which are constant and in real time. As a back log, magazines are so valuable as a record of our cultural influences but going forward there needs to be a shift, so that same cultural zeitgeist can be recorded in a way that we can track the journey.
I'm not sure if we have figured out how to do that yet as everything modern lives in a cloud which is only accessible by some form of computer. That's the whole point of this future though... it's not tangible, it's a projection of idealised realities on another spectrum, so it's kind of a new world that exists and it exists only for as long as it makes you feel something and then it dies and you're onto the next thing. You know what I mean, it's so incredibly fast. With print, something always remains unless you physically destroy it.
I do feel there will always be a place for print in fashion probably, because we all love it so much. I think it needs to become more specialised... collectible, limited edition... it will need to evolve and validate itself into a more contemporary and timeless version of print media, providing something that social media platforms can't deliver.
Saving money is hard. Really, really hard. However much you feel you’re scrimping, you’re always left with nothing more than a few pitiful pounds rattling around your account at the end of the month, right? We hear you.
A huge chunk of your pay probably goes on rent, and then there are the bills and travel costs that eat away your precious pennies without you even noticing.
Then there’s that voice. That tiny, niggling voice at the back of your mind that says: “Why bother? You’ll never afford a house anyway. Treat yourself to that coconut flat white from Pret. You deserve it.”
Enter the kakeibo, a "budgeting journal" and the latest Japanese lifestyle trend to get people talking. The kakeibo was invented back in 1904 by Hani Motoko, Japan’s first female journalist, and was designed to help busy women keep on top of their finances. Now, the first English-language kakeibo, by writer Fumiko Chiba, has just been released, so it’s time to put it to work.
The concept goes like this: At the start of each month, you sit down with your kakeibo and you plan what you’re going to spend, what you’re going to save and what you need to do to reach your goals. You then review what you’ve achieved. Sound simple? It is.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. We need to shift our focus from saving to spending
No problem, we hear you say. Spending is not the issue. Then you’ll like this.
Chiba explains that we need to reshape our attitude towards budgeting – we must “spend well” in order to “save well” and vice versa.
“We all work very hard in order to live, and also to enjoy things,” Chiba tells us. “It’s important to remember this fact when saving.”
In other words, if saving is all about what we can’t do and can’t have, it’s a chore, and we’ll likely quit. If it becomes about budgeting meticulously so we can do and can have what we really want, it becomes a much more inviting prospect.
2. Writing things down will help
Keeping a kakeibo is all about recording your spending, but it’s not enough to plug numbers into a spreadsheet. Putting pen to paper is a fundamental part of the practice.
“So much of our lives is lived on our phones or on computer screens,” Chiba says. “[Recording our finances online] mimics the instantaneous way we spend money. The journal is one remove from this, and it gives us the space and time to look at our spending in detail.”
In this sense, Chiba says, using a kakeibo becomes a kind of mindfulness exercise. “Our world is now so fast that everything can be bought and paid for very quickly. A kakeibo helps us slow down and really consider what we buy in a calm, measured way.”
So at the beginning of the month, you need to figure out and write down how much money you actually have. Look at what you’ve got, from your salary to any freelance bits to that £20 of birthday money from your mum, and tot it all up.
Then take your “fixed expenditure”: the stuff you have to pay, like rent and bills, and take it away from your total amount. Easy enough.
This will leave you with a sum that you can choose to “save” or “spend well”. Don’t worry if it’s in single figures right now – we’re just getting started.
3. You need to be honest about your “musts” and “wants”
Using a kakeibo is about decluttering your finances. If you’ve followed the last step, you know how much money is coming in, and you know what has to go out – so it’s time to figure out how you’re spending the rest, and the ways you can do it better.
The kakeibo works by dividing your spending into categories and getting really specific about it. For example: one category could be takeaways. The things listed here could run the gamut from a full-blown Deliveroo night to a quick takeaway coffee that slipped your mind as soon as you’d guzzled it. Be rigorous.
Once you know where your money’s going, you can sort your “musts” from your “wants”: what you absolutely need, and what you can survive without. Sure, we all need to eat – that’s a “must”. But let’s be honest, that lunchtime Itsu habit is a big old want. And sure, clothes are a “must” too – but does that really equate to spending all your spare money in Topshop?
Chiba advises: “To realise your ‘musts’, write down things that would go wrong if you did not spend money on them – these are usually costs that do not go away from month to month, like food.”
By looking at your spending in chunks (rather than a never-ending, guilt-inducing list of outgoings), you can identify the areas you may be able to cut back.
4. Cash is better than card
Nowadays, we’re more likely to have a wad of cards than cash (we wish) in our purse. But this, Chiba tells Refinery29, could be where we’re going wrong. Using a card makes us less accountable for our spending, while the physical act of handing over cash is something we’re more likely to think twice about.
Chiba even suggests taking cash out of the bank and dividing it into labelled envelopes to help you keep within your limits.
“For me the physical placing of cash in envelopes makes you less likely to spend it on other things, like drinks with your friends,” she explains. “Small acts can make a big difference in your saving goals. Acting with patience and consistency is what the kakeibo encourages.”
5. You should finish the month by reflecting on your progress
A glimpse at your mobile-banking app (followed by a cold sweat when you spy single figures) won’t cut it. At the end of each month, your kakeibo demands that you scrutinise your past four weeks of spending, acknowledging successes and weaknesses, and setting goals for the following month.
Tracking spending in apps just shows us where we’re going wrong, Chiba says. But by using a kakeibo, you can get a broader perspective.
“I find joy in saving small amounts every month. They seem like nothing at the time, but lead to a bigger total in the end,” she explains. “Your review period keeps you reminded of this progress.”
So get yourself a kakeibo, get scribbling and don’t forget to give yourself a pat on the back after a month well spent.
You may (regrettably) have thought that last night's cocktails were a good idea but your skin will disagree.
Alcohol is notoriously dehydrating and often leaves you sensitive, irritated and prone to breakouts. Dr. Perricone MD, founder of Perricone MD, explains further: "Alcohol alters the blood flow to the skin and produces an unhealthy appearance for days following overindulgence. This effect can manifest as dullness, enlarged pores, discolouration, and a red and blotchy complexion, puffiness around the eyes, loss of contours, sagging and lack of resilience." Stay one step ahead with our roundup of the best hydrating masks, moisturisers and everything in between.
Read on for our edit of the best products to fix the fatigued complexion you'll be faced with when your alarm goes off.
Chances are you weren't entirely successful in taking off your makeup when you stumbled into bed after a big night out. That's if you tried at all. The Body Shop's camomile cleansing butter is what you'll be reaching for the next day. It removes all traces of makeup and leaves no residue, without stripping the skin.
The Body Shop Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter, £10, available at The Body Shop
This gentle cream cleanser provides immediate relief for irritated or uncomfortable skin and will leave you feeling soothed and refreshed. The ideal second cleanse.
La Roche-Posay Toleriane Dermo-Cleanser, £12.50, available at Look Fantastic
This skin-brightening day moisturiser changes colour to adapt to your skin tone and provides long-lasting hydration with a healthy glow. Perfect for when your skin needs a little bit more help than usual.
Shiseido WASO Color-Smart Day Moisturiser SPF30, £32, available at Feel Unique
If you didn't make it home until 3am but have to be at work by 9am, don't leave the house without applying Dr. Barbara Sturm's calming serum. Formulated using natural ingredients, it calms irritation, combats signs of fatigue, reduces redness and improves the skin's sensitivity.
Dr Barbara Sturm Calming Serum, £173, available at Space NK
Dark circles, bags and puffiness are a telling sign you enjoyed yourself the night before. Origins GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream is enriched with coffee bean, panax ginseng and magnolia to minimise all of the above, while also brightening tired skin.
Origins Ginzing Refreshing Eye Cream To Brighten and Depuff, £20.50, available at Look Fantastic
If you've just about managed to cleanse, keep going, you're halfway there. Spritz away with this face mist, infused with aloe to cool, soothe and hydrate thirsty skin.
Clinique Moisture Surge Face Spray, £22.50, available at Look Fantastic
Brighten an alcohol-induced dull complexion with this deep cleaning mask. Using camphor, almond extract, honey-infused kaolin clay and glycerine, it alleviates blotchiness, breakouts and puffiness.
If last night's smoky eye just won't budge, pop this on a cotton pad and sweep over the lids. Enriched with rose and cornflower waters, the bi-phase eye makeup remover leaves skin cleaner and softer.
Clarins Instant Eye Makeup Remover, £20, available at Clarins
As Noella Gabriel, cofounder of Elemis explains: "Once alcohol enters the body, the focus of the liver is on breaking down the alcohol. The knock-on effect is that skin becomes depleted, dehydrated and toxic." Combat these effects with a moisture boost in the form of these hydra-gel eye masks. Combining potent plankton extract with hyaluronic acid, they'll leave your under-eye area smoother and intensely moisturised so you appear wide awake even if you're far from it.
Elemis Pro-Collagen Hydra-Gel Eye Masks x 6, £48.50, available at Feel Unique
Improve a lacklustre complexion with this daily moisturiser. Fortified with vitamin D, which contributes to cell growth, hyaluronic acid to lock in moisture and gooseberry extract, containing vitamin C, to promote a healthy glow.
Goldfaden MD Vital Boost, £60, available at Space NK
Hyaluronic acid is hungover skin's best friend. This serum restores the skin's barrier, intensely hydrates and makes the skin more resistant to daily aggressors like fatigue and pollution.
Vichy Aqualia Thermal Serum, £25, available at Feel Unique
You can't go wrong with an application of Pixi's Glow Tonic. Instantly brightening, the exfoliating toner removes dead skin cells, hydrates and soothes using aloe vera, ginseng and 5% glycolic acid.
Let Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate do the work for you while you sleep off the hangover. Enriched with squalene, essential oils and omega-6 fatty acids, apply before bed and wake up with a softer, hydrated and more supple complexion.
Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate, £37, available at Feel Unique
Mario Badescu's drying lotion clears up those unexpected breakouts that can be blamed on alcohol by combining salicylic acid and calamine. Simply douse a cotton bud with the liquid and swab onto problem areas.
Maintain your perfect pout with this SPF15, cocoa butter-infused, strawberry flavoured formula.
Carmex Strawberry Lip Balm Tube, £3, available at Urban Outfitters
Give your skin a hydrating boost with this serum from Indeed Labs. Containing red marine algae and the pure form of hyaluronic acid, it delivers nourished, plumper looking skin almost instantly.
Indeed Labs Hydraluron Moisture Booster Face Serum, £16.66, available at Boots
It's not all bad news, though. Dr. Perricone MD recommends red wine in future: "It contains a powerful heart-healthy, anti-cancer, anti-ageing antioxidant called resveratrol. And cabernet sauvignon grapes have the highest concentration of antioxidants." This pore refiner gently exfoliates, clarifies and refines the skin's surface.
Perricone MD Exfoliating Pore Refiner, £35, available at Perricone MD
I live in southeast London with my boyfriend, Rob, and we found this flat after being turfed out of our last place. It was a tiny, fourth-floor new build that had the most gorgeous views across East Dulwich, but the landlord was selling the building and we’re nowhere near the buying stage (and won’t be for some time, TBH).
But what seemed like a sad situation actually turned out to be a blessing. The flat we’re in now is much bigger, has more character (and by character I mean big windows and too much wood), and is just round the corner from our last place, so we got to stay in the area.
Photographed by Lottie Bea Spencer.
The cost of moving has been a real problem for us over the past few years. We’ve lived in four flats in two years, thanks to nightmare landlords and wanting to live alone rather than with others. Every time you move, agency fees, deposits and van hire drain your bank balance so I really hope we’ll be here for a long time now. I’m a real nesty person, and moving our things after just settling in makes me sad – although I’m so aware of our privilege in being able to afford housing in London as it is. Our rent is currently £1,425, and we could definitely find somewhere cheaper, but after years of huge houses with lots of housemates, we wanted our own place. East Dulwich is also fairly expensive compared to other parts of southeast London, but I have a full-on job as a fashion and beauty writer which involves running around central London for shoots, meeting PRs, and attending product launches and events. Coming home to a borough that feels like a village is really soothing and good for getting some headspace.
Rob and I have quite different priorities when it comes to finding a home. He’s super practical and looks out for sensible things like mould, how much energy we’ll use, and distance from a train station. I, however, am surface-level deep and focus on aesthetics… He whips me into shape and we compromise, though. This place is freezing in winter but hopefully will be glorious and warm all summer. It is very pretty, too...
Photographed by Lottie Bea Spencer. Video by Lottie Bea Spencer.
My favourite part of the flat is probably the bedroom. Sitting in bed on a Saturday morning with coffee and toast is divine. As the bed faces the huge window that looks out onto the park, there are no fewer than five dogs visible from my window at any one time, so it makes me really happy. We’re not allowed pets, so obsessively watching other people's is as good as it gets right now. The bedroom also has beautiful wooden floors, an exposed brick wall (ugh, I’m a total cliché) and big wardrobes – which is essential as I have a stupid amount of clothes.
Much to Rob’s chagrin, my overpacked wardrobe overflows onto the chair by our bedroom window. The chair was my grandma’s, and my most vivid memories of her are her sitting and smoking in it, so I adore it – plus look at the wonderful chintzy fabric! I’m ordered to remove the growing pile every week though, as it’s also Rob’s favourite reading spot.
Photographed by Lottie Bea Spencer. Video by Lottie Bea Spencer. Video by Lottie Bea Spencer.
I think your home is such a reflection of your personal style. Some of my friends are minimalists and have the most beautiful set-ups, but their aesthetic wouldn’t feel right in my flat and vice versa. For me, anything wooden, printed and textured is dreamy; from Persian rugs (and IKEA knockoffs) to knitted throws in bold colours. Of course, like any mid-twenties renter looking to make their home feel more homey, plants are essential. I can’t be trusted to look after them, but we have about 10 in every room. I love that all the trappings of ‘70s interiors – macramé, seagrass, and cheese plants – which were supremely uncool and old-fashioned back then, are everyone’s go-to now. In terms of practical decorating tips, these velcro strips are genius. When landlords get arsey about putting nails in the wall, but you want to put your favourite prints up, these adhesive babies leave no marks, and hold even the heaviest of frames.
Photographed by Lottie Bea Spencer.
I’m pretty basic in my homeware shopping; H&M Home, Matalan, Etsy, eBay, Gumtree, Freecycle, and MADE are my go-to spots. Oh, and Oliver Bonas makes the nicest mugs and glassware sets but I try and support independent ceramicists, as their pieces are often the same price and made with love. IKEA is obviously wonderful, and I don’t trust anyone who says they don’t like it, but I’d rather buy a secondhand chest of drawers from one of nearby New Cross’ many furniture shops than there.
I’m yet to reach the upcycling stage of furniture owning, as while we’re renting I’m apprehensive about spending too much time and money on it – you never know if your stuff will fit in the next place you rent, so I’d rather contribute to my excessive wardrobe right now… That said, I still obsess over Instagram accounts that chart people’s renovations. Before and after pictures are my crack, and I get really into seeing other people’s lives play out via kitchen refurbs and bedroom overhauls. I think I might be old before my time, ya know.
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It’s never been easier to keep up with what’s going on in the world. The news is everywhere – in our Facebook feeds, on the morning commute, during that lazy half hour before you switch off the TV and go to bed. But the tide of global affairs is often more upsetting than uplifting and it can be tempting to bury our heads in the sand. As the saying goes: a picture is worth a thousand words, so to offer a different perspective we've rounded up seven of the most memorable images of the last seven days' events, captured by the best photojournalists on the planet.
North Korean cheerleaders watch the men's preliminary round ice hockey match between South Korea and Czech Republic during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at the Gangneung Hockey Centre in Gangneung on 15th February 2018.
Photo by ED JONES/AFP/Getty Images.
People are brought out of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School after a shooting at the school that reportedly killed and injured multiple people on 14th February 2018 in Parkland, Florida. Numerous law enforcement officials continue to investigate the scene.
Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Performers dance as the Zulu Parade runs through New Orleans on Mardi Gras, 13th February 2018.
Photo by EMILY KASK/AFP/Getty Images
A reveller of the Sao Clemente performs on the first night of Rio's Carnival at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 11th February 2018.
Photo by CARL DE SOUZA/AFP/Getty Images
Revellers kiss during the 'Bloco da Lama', a mud carnival in Paraty, Brazil, on 10th February 2018. 'Bloco da Lama' started in 1986 by teenagers playing with mud and became a traditional event in the historical city of Paraty.
Photo by MAURO PIMENTEL/AFP/Getty Images
A damaged building is seen standing at night on 9th February 2018 in Hualien, Taiwan. The 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit late Tuesday night. According to reports, six people have been killed with hundreds injured. Almost 100 weaker earthquakes were detected along Taiwan's east coast in the last week.
Photo by Billy H.C. Kwok/Getty Images
Jipe, a female African Savannah elephant, is collared after she was tranquilised during an elephant-collaring operation in the the Lake Jipe region of Tsavo West National Park, Kenya. The operation run by the Kenya Wildlife Service, Save the Elephants, and the Tsavo Trust fitted 20 elephants with satellite radio collars that provide insight into elephant movement and space needs in the area. Nine out of 20 elephants collared had spear or arrow wounds, raising fears of human-elephant conflict in the region, which has seen a large growth in infrastructure and human population.
Photo by Andrew Renneisen/Getty Images
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In news that will surprise absolutely no one, the chance of 25 to 34-year-olds owning their own homes has "collapsed" over the past 20 years, according to new research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Tell us something we don't know, right?
Headlines have been dominated by sorry tales about the housing market for more than a decade now. The number of us stuck living with parents well into our twenties and thirties is at a "record high" and we're putting off starting families as a result. We're trapped in an extortionate, unregulated rental market (they don't call us Generation Rent for nothing), and priced out of our areas of choice, having to uproot our entire lives to secure a pile of bricks and mortar with our name on it. This is our reality – nothing I've written will be revelatory to anyone.
However, when you delve beyond the catchy headline findings of the IfS' new report, the research really hammers home the extent of the problem and how far beyond our individual control it is – despite what certain multi-millionaires, intent on proffering us unsolicited financial advice, may claim. A house-price boom coupled with stagnant incomes has been a lethal combination for young people wanting to own even a modest home of their own, a rite of passage that was considered a key marker of adulthood by their parents and grandparents.
Even those on decent middle incomes (£22,200 to £30,600) are now locked out of home-ownership, with property-owning among this group dropping the most over the last two decades, according to the IfS. In 1995-96, 65% of this group owned a home, compared to just 27% in 2015-16, with south-east England, where house prices have seen some of the biggest hikes, seeing the most significant drop.
Home ownership rates among middle income young people have collapsed in last 20 years. Middle earners used to be like high earners in housing tenure. Now they look, perhaps feel, more like those at the bottom of the income distribution https://t.co/dOTlhtiY9gpic.twitter.com/KyuHwgSSuR
Middle income young adults born in the 1980s are now no more likely to own a home than low earners, while in the 1970s they were almost as likely as their higher-earning peers to be able to buy a property during adulthood.
The research also highlights the growing gulf between rich and poor people in this country. As you'd expect, the wealthiest have been able to weather this housing shitstorm with relative ease, with those in the top income bracket having been the least affected, while middle earners have seen the largest decline in ownership rates and ownership among low earners has remained down.
One finding that's even more dejecting, however, is the extent to which our family background plays a part in our ability to own a home – underlining what anyone with wealthy friends already knows: the unspoken, unshakable importance of being able to withdraw funds from the bank of mum and dad. Even in 2018, you're more likely to own a home at 25- to 34-years-old if your parents are lawyers or teachers (i.e. in "higher-skilled jobs") than if they're delivery drivers or sales assistants ("lower-skilled jobs"). The difference is 43% verses 30%, according to the IfS, throwing the lack of social mobility in this country into sharp relief.
Research on millennial British homeowners last year also found that over a third (35%) had help from parents, while over a quarter (27%) moved back in with their parents to save for a deposit, and a further 27% borrowed from family to meet the unexpected costs after purchasing a house. So again, the influence of parents when it comes to home ownership is not "news", but research is a welcome reminder than it's no use feeling inferior if you haven’t yet cobbled together enough cash to buy a property by yourself.
This is something I'm all too familiar with as a 26-year-old "child" of low-income parents who rents a flat in London, but who is also friends – and went to university – with people at the opposite end of the spectrum. Among the few people I know who have already bought properties in the capital, not one has done it without complete or partial help from parents. One owns a multi-million pound house in a plush part of north-west London with a sibling around the corner in a similarly extortionate pad (the deposits paid, in full, by their parents and yet they charge their friends rent to pay off the mortgage); another's parents just paid their deposit on a lavish south-London flat by the Thames (again, with a sibling getting the same handout); while a few others have only been able to get a leg-up onto the ladder thanks to a hefty inheritance.
I'm resigned to the fact that I will only ever be able to buy a property with someone else – and with a lot of financial sacrifice on my part. But the answer to this wider injustice doesn't lie in young people like me modifying their behaviour or giving up the minor "luxuries" that make life bearable – we know that the sums of money saved from sacrificing nights out and plates of avocado toast pails in comparison to the price of a home, and this would do nothing to solve the country-wide housing crisis.
It's up to the government and local councils to fix the broken housing market. The UK population continues to increase and yet the rate of housebuilding remains pitiful. In November's budget, the chancellor committed to increasing the rate to 300,000 homes per year and making it easier for councils to build in the most in-need areas, but this already looks like a pipe dream, with even Conservative MPs critical of the plan, claiming the target is both out of reach and doesn't go far enough.
The government also cut stamp duty for first-time buyers in November in a bid to help young people, but the Office for Budget Responsibility soon warned this would inflate house prices even further, helping existing homeowners. So, with a government as useless, shortsighted and preoccupied with Brexit as ours, we could be well into middle-age by the time things start looking up.
