Paris Fashion Week: Valentino featuring Zoolander

Admittedly, it's been a while since my last post. However, uni is uni and things have been a bit hectic lately. I've been meaning to post for a while now, but just have not had the time at all.

Something I need to post about is the Fashion Week finale. Obviously, Paris Fashion Week did not disappoint.

The Valentino show closed the evening, a show in which all I can say I wish I'd had the opportunity to attend. The AW15 collection started off minimalistic, with a classic monochrome piece, and  little make up on the models. It then progressed to more colourful, textured pieces; leading up to the spectacular finish.

Two unexpected guests then took to the runway; Ben Stiller as Hansel and Owen Wilson as Derek Zoolander. The pair were wearing custom made Valentino two-pieces, with matching coats.

Ched Evans: Has He Served His Time?

I've been slightly reluctant to post my opinion with regards to the Ched Evans case. Maybe I'm a tad harsh on what I think, but its just something I feel strongly about.

Personally, I cannot comprehend how football clubs would even consider giving this 'man' a career. What he did to that 19-year-old girl is absolutely vile. It is purely his status that allowed him to be offered his job back. If he came out of prison a 'nobody' - not having his professional footballer career behind him - he would find it a lot harder to get a job. Evans was convicted of rape and sentenced for five years, and is now on the Violent and Sex Offender Register. If he did not have the status that he does, circumstances upon leaving prison would be entirely different.

My lecturer and I had a debate on this topic in my previous lesson; to which he told me that Evans had served his time, so why punish him more? I believe this is true, to an extent. Yes, he 'served his time' in prison, however, that young girl cannot so easily move on with her life. The girl claims she cannot remember the incident happening as she was too drunk. THIS IS NOT CONSENT. If somebody is too drunk, they are not in a right frame of time - which does not mean yes! Why is that so hard to understand? Somebody in that position is vulnerable, that does not give a person the right to take advantage of them.

We seem to live in a society that teaches girls and women how not to be raped, rather than teaching boys and men not to rape. There are so many different things women have to be aware of constantly, in order to prevent themselves from being raped; its almost like its becoming a part of every day life. This is absolutely appalling in my eyes.

WHY should women have to be so on edge constantly? Why can people not wear what they want to wear, without fear of being attacked? "She was asking for it for dressing promiscuously": NO, she was not. It does not matter if a woman walks around naked; she is still not asking to be raped. A woman should be entitled to wear whatever the hell it is she wants, without fear of being raped.

When I moved to university, it was drilled into us 'don't walk through the parks on your own at night', as the parks in the surrounding area are referred to as 'rape park'. We are constantly told not to walk anywhere on our own, as it 'isn't safe'. WHY is it not safe, and WHY is this issue not addressed? By warning people of it, it is merely displacing the issue; it is not attempting to resolve it. Why is more not being done to prevent rape happening?

I applaud Jessica Ennis. When she found out that Evans might have been signed by Sheffield United following his release, she demanded she wanted her name removed from the stand that was named after her. She claimed signing him would "contradict her beliefs". Sponsors for the club also pulled out following this news; ensuring they would have nothing to do with a club that supported a man of such a crime. Surely, this in itself, says something?

I am twenty years old, and have witnessed first hand what rape does to a person, and the true repercussions its has. I would not wish that on anybody. To watch somebody become a shell of their former self is absolutely heartbreaking. Rape destroys a person. It is not something to joke about. It is not something that should still be discussed in today's society. Rape IS a disgusting crime.

He may have served his time, but to society, he is a long way from redemption.

The Realisation of University

University doesn't seem to be what you think it will. You have all these ideas in your head of what it will be like, what the people will be like, what your course will be like, and so on; however, things don't seem to match up to your expectations.

The people you live with in halls seem to have the 'every man for themselves' mindset. You may think you're the closest of friends with them, but when it comes down to it, you find out the hard way that you're not. University can be a very lonely place at times. You're away from home, away from everything and everyone you know, and it can make you feel so alone, regardless of the amount of people around you. Phone calls home help slightly, but as soon as you're off the phone the loneliness kicks in as you're just sat in your room wondering how to fill your time.  You sometimes find yourself just counting down the days until you're back there again, or making drunken 4am calls to your sister telling her how much you miss her, and how alone you really are.

Money does disappear! It goes quicker than you think it will, trust me. Do not go out and get drunk every night, because you'll get two weeks down the line and realise you have no money, and no food in the freezer and you'll be stuck on what to do. The bank of Mum and Dad doesn't have unlimited funds; its time to start learning to budget and sorting yourself out money wise. Be careful with it! Or get a job, but find one that's happy with you going home during holidays - which is much easier said than done.

Stay on top of your work. Do not leave that big project until two days before its due and hand in a rushed piece of work - you WILL regret it, I can assure you of that. Everyone says first year doesn't count, which is true to an extent, but it does help you get into second year, and if you fail units in your first, it could affect your overall grade. The moral of the story is: first year is not as much of a doss as everybody makes out.

University is the time for you to be selfish. You need to think about what is best for you. Not enjoying your course, thinking its not for you? Just drop out! Do not even bother wasting your time. Don't consider how your parents will react, there is no point in staying if you don't like it, because you won't focus and you'll get bad grades, which will look even worse. They will understand, just talk to them! Just think of yourself while you're here. Make sure you just do what you want to do, and forget everyone else's opinions. It's all you can do. You need to make sure you're happy, and living life how you want to; not how your parents want you to.

You WILL lose friends when you move to university. Its sad, but its true. Those friends from home you thought would always be there? They won't be. You'll get a text every couple of months asking how things are going, but when you're struggling on your own, you won't hear from them. But that's just life. Things don't go as planned, and as you grow older, friends leave, but that's okay. You will be okay, and you'll get new friends. Don't waste time on people that clearly don't care about you, you'll only hurt yourself more trying to hold onto something that isn't there any more.

Family are everything, just remember that. They are the ones that will be there when nobody else is, even if you don't think they will be. That drunken phone call to your sister? That shows she cares, believe me. Don't push them away because you're in a bad mood, it will only make things worse in the long run. As lonely as you feel, taking it out on them will not resolve the situation. University has made me a lot closer to my sister, and I tend to spend a good hour and a half on the phone to her just ranting about life. Whether she wants to listen or not, she does. She seems to just put things into perspective sometimes. She's the one that tells me when I'm being over dramatic and to man up a bit, or she'll just let me cry down the phone until I feel better.

It's time to start sorting your life out a bit. Get your head down, and get on with things. You've clearly gone to university for a reason, so make sure you come out with something to be proud of. Don't spend 90% of your time drunk, you're bound to look back in a few years and regret it.

At the end of the day, just have fun. Don't think about things too much, just enjoy it.

Tasteful vs. Trashy

What happened to wanting to look classy, and respectful?

Personally, I really am not a fan of Kim Kardashian's photo-shoot for Paper Magazine. The pictures were released this week, and I just think they look tacky. Obviously, quite a controversial comment, due to Kim's huge fan-base that appear to adore these pictures like they're the best thing since sliced bread.

I just think they're distasteful. Kim is now a mother; why not start acting like one? Rather than going for photo-shoots and having one of her bare behind. It's hardly a new thing either, there are endless photo-shoots of her topless, or with barely any clothes on. She was finally beginning to dress a bit classier, and looking presentable, rather than wearing a big fashion statement every single time she leaves the house. 

She tweeted 'And they say I didn't have a talent...try balancing a champagne glass on your ass LOL #BreakTheInternet #PaperMagazine'.. I'm sorry, but is that really something to be proud of? She's famous for a sex tape that got released, and now she's proud of that. That's hardly a role model to young girls.

My icon is Victoria Beckham, who in my eyes, is one of the classiest women in the industry. She actually made a name for herself and worked to be where she is now. Victoria is a good role model for young girls and she proves if you work hard, it pays off. She now has her own fashion line that is worn by a number of celebrities, three children, and one of the most idolised men as her husband. 

You don't see her parading around balancing champagne glasses on her arse. I just feel she's not using her fame as an excuse to take her clothes off for a photo-shoot. 

Maybe bit of a harsh opinion, but it just annoys me the amount of attention she gets for such ridiculous things. 

Eating Disorders: My Opinion

Yesterday, I read an article that personally, I find really quite shocking.

It's called '5 Reasons To Date A Girl With An Eating Disorder.' The article is written by a journalist under the name of 'Tuthmosis', and he literally lists five reasons why dating a girl that has an eating disorder is beneficial for a man.

The five reasons are 'Her obsession over her body will improve her overall looks ', 'She costs less money', 'She's fragile and vulnerable', 'Probably has money of her own' and 'She's better in bed.' These are the subheadings and he then expands on these headers with reasons as to why this is a benefit.

I find this really quite disgraceful. Eating disorders are a serious issue, and he has glamorised it into something that is to be desired in a person. Eating disorders can have horrific side effects and can harm a persons body with irreversible consequences. Bulimia can potentially cause tearing of the oesophagus, which is caused by self-inflicted vomiting. Muscle atrophy can potentially be caused which is the wasting away of muscle and decrease in muscle mass due to the body feeding off of itself.  Anorexia can potentially result in infertility, or problems during pregnancy. There have even been cases of suicide as a result of eating disorders.

I have had the misfortune to witness a friend that has had an eating disorder, and to see it first hand brings to reality the seriousness of the situation. Thankfully, she overcame her eating disorder; however, two years later is still affected by what it did to her.

I feel this article is absolutely vile, and do not understand how a person can have such views on the subject. Eating disorders cannot be sugar-coated to be a good thing, and this is a sheer encouragement for girls to develop eating disorders. Some girls may read this article and genuinely believe what is written. With articles like this, it is no wonder that eating disorders are increasing. 3800 people, males and females, within the past four years have been admitted to hospital due to eating disorders. Cases during that time increased by almost 10%.

I feel strongly about eating disorders as I have been asked numerous times as to whether I have one or not. I used to work as a part-time waitress and often had comments asking if I ever actually ate anything., customers 'have numbers I could call regarding my issue', how would I know what the food tasted like as I 'clearly hadn't tried it', I'm 'stick thin', look at the size of me and more. As I was at work, I had to remain professional, and could not retaliate, but I hated comments like that. They happened regularly so in the end I got used to them; but it does not take away from the fact that they are unacceptable and cannot be asked purely because I have a slim figure. I don't understand how somebody can have the audacity to question another's health because of their figure, especially when at work. At first, I found it difficult to not say anything back and question why they thought they could ask such personal questions; but in the end, I got used to the comments and was no longer shocked by some of the things that were said to me.

Eating disorders are serious illnesses that do not need chauvinistic pigs like this glamorising them and taking away the seriousness of them. More awareness is still needed to emphasise the sheer severity of eating disorders, and articles like this are merely unnecessary. I understand people are entitled to their own opinions, but feel this is a step too far and screams desperation for readers. Of course, this article has had a lot of attention due to the content, but that is to be expected when it is so controversial.

Sources:
http://www.returnofkings.com/21313/5-reasons-to-date-a-girl-with-an-eating-disorder
http://www.something-fishy.org/dangers/dangers.php
http://www.anorexiabulimiacare.org.uk/information-and-statistics-media

Guest Speaker: Gino Sprio

Every Wednesday at university we have a voluntary session where a guest speaker comes in and tells us of what they've achieved and to offer some form of advice for us.

This week we had the fashion photographer, Gino Sprio.Gino Sprio is based in London, and his work has appeared in publications such as Vogue, Elle and The Sunday Times. Some of his work is currently displayed in the National Portrait Gallery in their permanent collection. Some of the people Sprio has photographed include Paul Smith, Augus McBean, James Nesbitt and Jake and Dinos Chapman.

When talking to us, Sprio told us how he got into the industry and was analysing his work with samples of photographs he'd taken. It was extremely interesting listening to why he photographed people the way he did and what it was he was trying to achieve. He told us he personally prefers shooting in black and white to colour, and a lot of his work is black and white.

I, personally, find his work incredible. A contributing factor may be because he explained the reasons behind the photos, but that doesn't take away from how good they actually are.

I was adamant I wanted to attend the session, and I'm glad I did. It was an eye opener as to what you can achieve if you want something.Gino Sprio in amazing photographer and I'm extremely grateful I got the chance to attend the guest speaker session to listen to him.

I've added a few samples of his work, that are personal favourites of mine. His website is www.ginosprio.com which obviously has a lot more of his photographs on.

Angie Bowie

Morrissey

Anna Frield

Nick Cave

Paul Smith

Ozzy Osbourne

All photographs Copyright Gino Sprio.

Onwards and Upwards

I've spent the past month or so contemplating how I'm going to achieve what it is I want in life. It seems tonight I've had an apiphany, if you like. I'm twenty years old, and I feel like I'm finally doing something worthwhile with my life. I'm not just sitting around at home watching life pass me by, wondering what it is I'm doing with mine.

I wasted a lot of time last year on things I didn't want/need to be doing. A part time waitressing job, when I could have tried to get work experience. Having to go back to college to rectify my wrongs. I just wish I'd realised sooner what I wanted in my future. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I've got the working experience I have, and I love the feeling of working and earning my own money. I despise the idea of having to take money off of my parents; I haven't since I was fifteen and don't intend to start now. I feel it just gives me such an independence earning my own money and having the freedom to spend it how I please. 

However, I need to focus on the future.  I've got myself a part-time job at university, and I've decided to stop wasting my money on such material objects. I intend to fill my bookshelf with fashion and journalism books; educating myself on the history of it all and how the industries are now; finding out how they've changed. I intend to actually achieve my goal of working for a fashion magazine and want a background knowledge of the industry. 

I've realised life really is too short to waste your time on things. Although, I do find that is a contradictory statement. Everyone says life is too short, yet it's the longest thing we'll ever experience. 

I've had some relationships come to an end with people that I thought were unexpected to say the least; but it's just another obstacle to overcome. People change as they get older and we all grow into different human beings. I know that I'm certainly not the same person I was three years ago. Sure, it's hard to lose some people, but you get on with it and you adjust to it. It takes a while but it's all just a learning curve. It's just a matter of picking yourself up, dusting yourself down and carrying on. 

That is exactly what I intend to do.