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The Forbidden Beauty of Age in Fashion
Everybody ages, that’s a given. Yet the image of age is very rarely represented in the fashion world and is sometimes frowned upon. OK, you’re right, there are symbols of older beauty in popular culture, with people like Idris Elba and George Clooney winning the title of Sexiest Man Alive in their older years. But although they may have had a grey hair here and there, they hadn’t even reached 50 when the earned the title. The absence of age in beauty standards In the age of representing diversity, the fashion industry is performing poorly. Most brands that we see and consume have standard for their models. Their models are…
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#Instascam: Influencer marketing and diversity
There is not one standard definition of beauty or one perfect size. Ashley Graham In the fashion industry, lack of diversity has always been a concerning topic. However, in the current digital age of social media, this issue is more apparent than ever. We are constantly exposed to outfit posts that all look very alike, which is often fuelled by something called ‘influencer marketing’. According to Forbes, “an influencer is someone who helps other people buy from you”. #TheConsumerDemandForChange Over the last few years, Instagram has really taken off. Research has shown that there are now at least 1 billion users of the platform each month. Although this is a…
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Debunking the ‘Summer Body’ myth
If you’ve been keeping up with anything happening in the world right now, I won’t be the first person to tell you that summer 2020 is no more. Forget your plans, summer is officially canceled. But with summer existing purely inside and at a socially acceptable distance, it has got me wondering. What would various marketing groups be preparing for their advertisement campaigns in a bid to sell you their idealised image of what a woman should look like? The Summer Body So, what exactly is the ‘Summer Body’? Major corporations advertise the ‘Summer Body’, usually a thin woman, with a flat stomach and toned abs. This idealised version of…
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Why have we adapted to the ‘wear it once’ culture when it comes to our wardrobe?
As the world starts to go back to ‘normal’ after the global pandemic, we are able to get dressed up and head to the bars and restaurants. But let’s be honest, alongside celebrating the end of lockdown and finally celebrating the events we have missed such as birthdays and weddings it seems like a perfect excuse for splashing the cash on various new outfits. Wanting something new isn’t a bad thing but do we ever consider how many wears we’ll get out of it? Many of us have an irrational fear of wearing the same thing twice but where does it come from? Surprise surprise, social media plays a huge…
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How do we define the perfect body?
As we all know, Victoria’s Secret is a women’s brand famous for its sexy beauty products and perfect body models. However, it seems this brand breaks its own ‘rule’ this time. In October 2019, Victoria’s Secret hired its first size-14 model – Ali Tate-Cutler. Cutler posted photos of herself modelling the Bluebella lingerie and announced she has made history as the brand’s first size-14 model on her Instagram. In that picture, Cutler’s hair falls softly on her chest and confidence is brilliantly shone in her eyes. With her flawless skin and lace jumpsuit, clearly, she is following the footsteps of the convention for Victoria’s Secret. Her body, however, does not…
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The impact makeup may be having on our self-image
Worth over a staggering $500m, the beauty industry is taking the world by storm. With makeup tutorials stacking up billions of views on YouTube every year, it’s no surprise that the industry continues to soar. But is the beauty industry, in particular makeup, changing our concept of beauty? With filtered images of flawless skin and sculptured advertised everywhere we go, it’s understandable why someone without the “perfect” skin and chiselled cheekbones may not feel beautiful. As a young woman who has grown up surrounded by the phenomenon of makeup, I have experienced both the positive and negative. In this article, I will discuss my own journey with makeup and how…
