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Day: 17 October 2012

Dolce and Gabbana SS13: It’s just heritage, right?

Written by Faye Howard on . Posted in Fashion & Beauty.

Dolce and Gabbana have ruffled the feathers of the fashion world during the premier of their ‘controversial’ SS13 collection at Milan fashion week last month.  Beady-eyed observers were quick to jump down the throats of the design house after they sent plastic earrings, resembling ‘Blackamoor statues’ and ‘Old Aunt Jemima dolls’ (post-colonial iconography, if you didn’t know) down the catwalk.  Critics branded the collection ‘offensive’ and in the harshest case, a ‘romanticism of slavery and plantation life’, suggesting the two Caucasian designers had created a ‘clueless colonial look’.

For many years, Sicily (the homeland of Dolce and Gabbana) has been the inspiration behind many a collection, with the designer’s beautiful, intricate and sometimes zany designs living and breathing the infamous duo’s Italian roots.  Claiming the collection to be in no way racist, Domenico Dolce & Stefano Gabbana took inspiration from their Italian heritage combined with a summer holiday theme to create the brightly coloured, hessian constructions, utilising imagery of Moorish statues (the controversial black faces on the earrings) and historic prints of battlefields on dresses. A racist and politically incorrect slip-up? Possibly not.

The question is, was this really a step too far in the ‘la-la-land’ and possibly ignorant world of fashion? Or is this just simply a step too far for the nit-picking critics who are constantly snooping for controversy in today’s ‘strictly PC’ media? Was the fashion press just slow that day?  Either way, I find myself delving into the land of the unknown, to the point where I am questioning my own political correctness, and dare I say views, on racism within fashion.  Is it absurd to think people could just look upon the collection as a beautiful creation, concept and celebration of a country’s heritage and culture, without jumping on the racism bandwagon?  Moreover, is it completely bonkers to conclude that if we are questioning the use of black people in fashion and design as being immediately racist, then we ourselves are actually the racist ones?  I know for certain that if we saw these earrings on the ears of Naomi Campbell, we wouldn’t think twice other than this was an ‘out-there’ fashion statement.

Is that then the problem?  Had there been at least one black model used in the show, would the critics have been pacified? Milan is well renowned for having a distinct lack of non-white models on their catwalks, and one could indeed argue, that it was actually the deliverance of Dolce and Gabbana’s show that did not sit well on first look at this ‘conceptual’ collection. There were 85 looks showcased, yet there were no black models represented on the runway.  Surely this wasn’t a good idea if they were truly interpreting the multi-cultural heritage they set out to? Either way, I feel that anyone who criticised this collection for having connotations of ‘slavery’ and ‘years of oppression’, should take a good, hard look at the bigger picture. There are obviously bigger issues we have to deal with here, and they do not start with a pair of earrings.

Top 5: High school movies

Written by Moya Crockett on . Posted in Film.

5. 10 Things I Hate About You

This reworking of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew has lines to match anything the Bard ever came up with. Case in point: good girl Bianca’s musings on the difference between like and love. “Well, I like my Skechers, but I love my Prada backpack.”

4. Heathers

An 80’s Mean Girls with a big dose of psychotic violence. Tiring of her fellow ‘popular girls’ the Heathers (all the best girl gangs have a name), Winona Ryder’s Veronica decides to eliminate them, casually murdering a few others along the way with the help of Christian Slater. A dark antidote to teenage fluff.

3. Dazed & Confused

Tarantino called this one of the greatest films of all time. On the last day of school, 1976, jocks, nerds, stoners and beautiful girls terrorize younger kids, attempt to buy beer, make out, get high, drive around and contemplate the future. Funny, relaxed, and totally wonderful.

2. Cry-Baby

Everything that made Grease weird (30-year-old actors playing teenagers; a terrible moral message) feels right at home in John Waters’ dazzling high school, musical satire. The characters are brilliantly grotesque, the doo-wop and rockabilly soundtrack flawless, but Johnny Depp steals the show as a juvenile delinquent in 1950s Maryland. A cult classic.

1. Mean Girls

“That’s why her hair’s so big. It’s full of secrets.” With an endlessly quotable script, the iconic Plastics and a classic teen-movie message (being popular isn’t everything!), this is high school gold and a sad reminder of what a great actress LiLo was, pre-raging coke addiction and tragic transformation into Donatella Versace.

 

Old Hollywood’s Leading Lady in Red: Get the Look

Written by Tilly Miller on . Posted in Fashion & Beauty.

With winter and even Christmas rapidly approaching, we Mancunians know that we will inevitably be splashing out on some warmer wear over the next month. As the temperature drops it may be tempting to throw on the old cable-knit jumper your grandma gave you three Christmases ago, but I would urge you to step away and leap into the arms of one of these high street takes on Miss Hepburn’s famous look.

In true Hollywood style, the classic red coat has established itself as a timeless option to suit any look and budget. While we may not be old Hollywood celebrities, you will certainly feel like one wearing one of these colourful coats. Not only is the red coat perfect for Christmas, but it also provides the perfect antidote to our mid-term blues; tending to be brought on by looming deadlines and fast evaporating loans!

Here are three of the best high street alternatives I found on my search. Collarless, double-breasted and certainly eye-catching, there’s one for every style and budget.

To complete Audrey’s elegant ensemble seen in ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ pair with Topshop’s premium faux-fur black Cossack.

Hep-budget: For a very small fee of twenty-two pounds, Debenhams has the perfect cheapo imitation for those of you wanting to save as much as possible.

Heppy medium: Boohoo’s fifty pound red coat certainly demonstrates a modern take on the old classic with its pleated detail and gold buttons flattering all figures.

Hep-blowout: Whilst this Urban Outfitters beauty will certainly cause your debit card some damage, it’s bang on trend for this A/W. This double-breasted coat is bound to get you noticed around campus, if not for the colour, for your dedication to fashion!

 

Amnesty International Soc

Written by Kate Bullivant on . Posted in Societies.

Amnesty International aims to protect people ‘wherever justice, fairness, freedom and truth are denied.’ Unlike many charities, Amnesty International is not primarily committed to the raising and distributing of financial relief, but instead seeks to prevent and abolish instances of severe human rights violations on an international scale.

The Amnesty International society at Manchester serves to contribute to this cause. Through ‘small acts of resistance’ the society aims to peacefully pressurise governments and big corporations found to be responsible for infringing human rights.

Amnesty is famous for the Letters of Solidarity supporting prisoners of conscience and their campaigns against those in positions of authority thought to be violating human rights laws. The Letters of Solidarity have had a huge impact on political prisoners and campaigners; Ana Maria Pizarro, persecuted for defending women’s rights in Nicaragua, for example, said that the Letters of Solidarity from Amnesty gave her the strength to continue the fight.

The Amnesty International Society in Manchester holds letter-writing events every two weeks, on a drop-in basis, to allow students to get the chance to participate in these modest, yet very effective, acts of resistance against human rights violations.

They also organises peaceful protests in an attempt to raise awareness of contemporary campaigns that are occurring globally. This Wednesday a silent flash mob consisting of thirty participants, gathered to raise awareness of the harrowing reality of the effect of the death penalty in the USA. Carrying a large banner urging for the abolition of the death penalty and wearing masks of the face of Reggie Clemons, members of the Amnesty Society and many passers by who were inspired to get involved, campaigned against the flawed penalty system in the USA.

After the flashmob, I met with Amnesty’s publicity officer, Imogen Greener, to gain a better insight into the aims of the Amnesty International Society. According to Imogen, the society is there to inspire students to act, even in very small ways, to improve human rights globally.

It is very easy to get involved in Amnesty’s work, which promotes involvement on a drop-in basis. The Society will be hosting a fundraising event at the Ram and Shackle on the 18th October offering live music, food, drink, henna and, of course, plenty of campaigning opportunities. This offers a great way to have a positive impact on global human rights and provide assistance to those whose basic rights have been violated.  Check out Manchester’s Amnesty International Facebook page in order to get involved or come down to the Ram to unshackle.

 

SOS Children’s Villages Society

Written by Rachel Heward on . Posted in Societies.

The SOS Children’s Villages Society has been set up to raise money and awareness for the SOS Children’s Villages charitable organisation. They are the world’s largest orphan charity and operate in 125 countries, supporting orphans long-term through the means of sponsorship. For nearly sixty years, SOS Children has developed an approach based on building a community. They provide children with a home, a family and a new mother in a purpose-built local Village. They invest in whole communities in order to help many children and provide for them until they are ready for independent life. Because they are reasonably unknown in the UK, they have set up student societies around the country to increase their profile.

I spoke to Annalise Baker  who is the president of the SOS Children supporters group and set up the society at the University of Manchester. She explained about what they do, “in order to reach our aims of raising money and awareness, we organise various events throughout the year. To raise awareness we carry out public talks in local community groups such as churches. These talks are not about raising money. They involve us giving a presentation which we can adapt to the audience depending upon what countries we specifically talk about, and answering any questions they may have. To raise money we host events such as gigs and raffles. These also increase the social aspects of the society.”

Since setting up the society last year they have already held a public talk in a local church and organised a concert called ‘gig for the kids’ that raised £361 for the charity. At the end of the year they also organised a raffle draw that raised a further £100.

Their plans for the year include at least two more talks and they are also hoping to have another gig as well as a comedy night.

SOS Children’s Villages Society meets every Wednesday at 7pm in the Student Union to organise their events. They hold regular monthly socials where they do activities such as bowling to ensure everyone in the society has the chance to get to know each other.

If you would like to get involved you can join through the student union website by searching ‘SOS’ in the societies section. They can also be found on:

Facebook by searching ‘UOM SOS Children’s Villages’

Twitter: @MCRSOSCHILDRENS.

Student 101: home sweet home

Written by Lucy Firth on . Posted in Lifestyle.

Millions of students across the country move to university each year to embark upon a new life, living away from home as a student. From my experience, being a fresher, essentially the ‘newbie’ in the university world, is both exciting and daunting. Let’s face it: waving goodbye to delicious home-made meals, a blazing fire and even more importantly, close family, friends and the dog isn’t easy. On the positive side, settling into the initially unfamiliar surroundings of university halls and later, into a shared flat or house, can be a piece of cake if you take note of the following tips.

Having a nicely decorated room, with little reminders of life at home really makes a difference. So when you’re taking that mad last minute trip round IKEA, filling the trolley with lots of ‘necessities’ that your parents will feel obliged to pay for, focus on buying bright, colourful items such as a rug or an art print to form a focal point of the room. Also, as we tend to associate home life with being warm, cosy and relaxed, soft cushions and bedding are a definite must-have. Photographs of special occasions with close family and friends serve as a nice reminder of happy moments and can help stave off homesickness in those difficult initial weeks. Listening to your favourite music, reading a book or even enjoying a cuppa from your special birthday mug all help to create a homey feel. Don’t forget to bring your favourite teddy- everyone secretly has one!

Whether you’re a fresher or a final year student, actively participating in university life is essential. This can be through joining societies, attending course social events or simply getting out and about to see what the city has to offer. As everyone is in the same boat, it is important to work as a team and but also learn to be independent. Once the fresher’s hype has died down and the essays start to pile up, simple pleasures such as a home-cooked meal can really make your day. So find a tempting recipe and create a home from home feel by cooking a meal and watching a film together with your new friends. Organising a monthly social event for your degree programme is a great way to get to know other like-minded students and that initial ice-breaker might be the start of a budding friendship.

It’s normal to feel homesick from time to time but family members are only a phone call away. As final year students, my friends and I still miss home in term-time but we’ve acclimatised to university life and live it to the full! You’re only a student once so enjoy it!

Ren Harvieu – Live review

Written by Sophie Wozencraft on . Posted in Music.

Having seen Salford-born Ren Harvieu perform numerous times prior to this gig, I was sceptical as to whether she would fare well in a larger venue than her previous haunts – for example, Manchester’s Ruby Lounge – as I thought the intensity and intimacy of her previous shows could easily be lost to a larger space. As soon as the cool tranquillity of the piano/mirror ball entrance began, however, I knew I would be proven wrong.

The classy and sassy ‘Tonight’ proved a strong opening that led into the popular single ‘Through the Night’, after which she proceeded to wave to friends and family in the audience. It was at this point, when I glanced at the packed floor and balconies, I questioned whether the 22 year old quite realised the extent of her ever growing fame, and her humorous, almost awkward, stage demeanour instantly won her the hearts of her audience for the rest of the evening. The set continued with a masterful mix of soulful and jazzy numbers, heartbreaking confessionals and piano accompanied ballads. Then came her acclaimed cover of Roy Orbison’s ‘Crying’. The ethereal lighting and delayed, simplistic sound of keyboards filled the space, with her soaring yet stunningly delicate vocals intoxicating the room, reducing some audience members to tears of previously untapped sympathetic heartache.

The set finished with her album opener, ‘Open up Your Arms’, which was greeted with a torrent of cheers, claps and a thirst for more. Her impromptu encore, consisting of George Harrison’s infamous ‘Something’, wooed the majority, ending the evening with a good old fashioned sing-a-long. And so, after undoubtedly adding a touch of class to the Manchester music scene, this concert cemented  Ren’s fans’ love for, and faith in, her refreshing musical style.

Live: Palma Violets at Deaf Institute

Written by Johnny Mac on . Posted in Music.

3rd October 2012

7/10

As most of us know, the NME is an institution that loves hysterically over-hyping new bands and then, often, decimating their reputations, leaving them to play to crowds of around four punters in a pub, somewhere in rural Yorkshire.

Thus, it came as no surprise to see their latest test-subjects, Palma Violets, emblazoned across the magazine’s cover last week, before the band have any releases to their name. Tonight, then, I’m at the Deaf Institute to verify if there’s any justification to this of gang of four du jour’s hype.

First up are local lads Temple Songs. They play a pleasant selection of Kinksian tunes but it’s the next support, Childhood, who really capture the imagination. With a thrilling set of Ride-indebted shoegaze meets Stone Roses wah, they may soon taste success, but what of Palma Violets themselves?

The band soon swagger on, glowing with boyish dickhead-charisma and launch into action. At halfway, the Violets, it seems, are to some extent packing the tunes, and there are a few standouts within a decent set. ‘Fourteen’ and forthcoming single, ‘Best of Friends’ are both built around that classic, three-chord structure and are received with mosh-pit aplomb, though, it’s set closer ‘Brand New Song’, that looks the most likely to incite festival sing-along euphoria come next Summer.

Other than standard indie, the reference points are fairly obvious: the pop-noir of Nick Cave (whose t-shirt is sported by bassist Chili Jesson); the manic rattle of The Gun Club; the funereal organ, raw riffs and humour of Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers. This latter combo should propel the band on their way to success, and, if they seem unoriginal tonight, their enthusiasm and antics onstage (with howling singer, Sam Fryer ending up head-over-arse at the end) more than compensate. Just don’t hold your breath for the next Strokes.

Review: No Doubt – Push and Shove

Written by James Birtles on . Posted in Music.

After a four year hiatus and Gwen Stefani’s successful solo career and a Harajuku business venture, fans have had to endure an eleven year wait for their newest album Push and Shove. To some, No Doubt will only be famous for their 1996 release ‘Don’t Speak’ but will the new album reach similar heights as the supporting album Tragic Kingdom?

It may be a surprise to some that Push and Shove is No Doubt’s sixth studio album. The new release attempts to show a grown up band after those eleven year and attempts to deal with more serious lyrical content; unfortunately for No Doubt, these songs cannot match the aforementioned ‘Don’t Speak’, but they are equally as catchy with their famous ska/punk/new wave influences. These influences bring the album back to heights of ‘Hey Baby’ and ‘Just a Girl’ from Rock Steady and Tragic Kingdom respectively.

This maturity shines through the album resulting in the album not sounding like a release from No Doubt; it is similar in places but some tracks lack the immaturity of previous releases, such as ‘Hella Good’ and ‘Trapped in a Box’.  ‘One More Summer’ is a prime example of a track that doesn’t fit into No Doubt territory, in fact sounds more like part two of Gwen Stefani’s 2005 solo release ‘Cool’.

Reading this review, it might seem that the album has been negatively received but it is a good album, just not as good as Rock Steady or Tragic Kingdom. Much like any album that takes a band in new direction, it will take more than one or two plays to get used to (the gem of the album is definitely ‘Push and Shove’) but the songs are equally as catchy as previous releases and show that No Doubt still have something to say for themselves after over 25 years in the music business.

Live: Slash at Apollo

Written by Charlie Boydell-Smith on . Posted in Music.

8th October 2012

7/10

Slash tweeted before the gig that it was almost 25 years  to the day since he first played in Manchester. Although the Manchester Apollo hasn’t changed much since then, the musical landscape that Slash first inhabited certainly has. Guns ‘n’ Roses are no longer at the peak of their powers; Slash left the band in 1996 to pursue other projects, and the less said about the direction that Axl Rose has taken the band in since, the better.

Luckily for the people of Manchester, the city is playing host to the second show of his ‘Apocalyptic Love’ European tour. The crowd are warmed up by Ginger Wildheart, the eponymous lead singer stomping around the stage with the energy of someone half his age.

Although Slash now has two solo albums to his name and a wealth of material from his Velvet Revolver days, he still relies on Guns ‘n’ Roses classics to prop up the set list. A strong musical partnership appears to be developing between Slash and Miles Kennedy, the singer providing vocals for most of the album as well as fronting the band on tour. ‘Nightrain’ features early on, alongside heavy numbers ‘Halo’ and ‘Standing in the Sun’ from his new album. ‘We’re All Gonna Die’, featuring the lyrics ‘we’re all gonna die, so let’s get high’, sees Slash join in on the chorus. The intro to ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ takes us back to his Guns heyday, propelling middle aged men to re-live the hedonistic dream of someday becoming a guitar god. The set is finished with Velvet Revolver classic ‘Slither’, before an encore of ‘Fall to Pieces’ and a mass clap-along to ‘Paradise City’.

Perhaps surprisingly, Slash is every inch the professional. He arrives promptly, plays a hit-laden set with the same gusto as twenty years ago and although the extended guitar solos can get a bit tedious, he’s just giving those in attendance exactly what they want to hear. Axl Rose, take note.

Harmony Gospel Choir

Written by Kate Bullivant on . Posted in Societies.

Last week, I met up with the Treasurer Dominic Fenton who explained what the Harmony Gospel Choir is all about. They also kindly invited me to sit in on their rehearsal from 4pm to 6pm upstairs in Jabez Clegg (every Wednesday), and after ten minutes I couldn’t resist getting involved. They have a lot planned this year and in December they have their annual concert and this summer they have just won the University Gospel Choir of the year award.

Surely you have to be quite good at singing to join the choir?

No, absolutely not. Even if you’ve never sung before you’re still more than welcome. You don’t even have to think you’re good at singing because you will eventually realise that you are, and our job is to help teach you. There is no audition, and no fee so all you have to do is drop in on our Wednesday session. Usually there are 50 people in the choir but this year is it a bit bigger, and we have about 70 to 80 people. Our conductor Tosin is fantastic at getting the best out of us, and we have Dave on the piano who has just completed his PhD at the RNCM.

Gospel music is heavily linked with Christian ideologies. Do you structure your society around Christianity and can non-believers and people of other faiths get involved?

You’re right that Gospel music is associated with Christianity and this is something we all recognise and respect. Nearly all of the music we sing is focused on Christianity and half way through each rehearsal we stop for a short prayer. However, our main aim is to include everyone. Personally I am not religious at all, but I respect that the music I love derives from a religious background. As a committee we try to strike a balance between incorporating religion without people feeling alienated or intimidated by it. One can respectfully ignore the prayer at half time, but understand that it’s there for the people who do practise Christianity within the group. We are concerned with the inclusion of Christianity but not the doctrine of Christianity. What’s great about our society is that you can take away from the religious words and put them in a wider context, we sing about inclusion, hope, peace and love. And these are important to everyone no matter what your religion is.

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/220547981977/?fref=ts

 

 

A run down of this weeks singles

Written by Rachel Connolly on . Posted in Music.

This week sees a few potentially exciting new releases, with ‘How Do You Do’ by Hot Chip definitely being the stand out single. This is a really fun, catchy pop song. It’s definitely less experimental and daring than past records, and it won’t cause the same stir as ‘Over and Over’ – but it’s still classic Hot Chip. With a hint of disco influence, this one will definitely get a lot of radio play. Another big one for the radio is X factor’s Matt Cardle, back with new single ‘Its Only Love’ from second album The Fire. ‘It’s Only Love’ lives up to his old material, and is very similar lyrically; musically, it’s a bit livelier, and while it’s less raw this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

New releases from Bat for Lashes and Bastille also seemed promising but were disappointing duds, both tracks being too similar to past releases and lacking any real standout qualities. ‘All your gold’ from Bat for Lashes is in the same vein as ‘Daniel’ but a lot of depth, character and personality has been lost in production. This song starts well and is good musically but Khan is poor vocally and lyrically, her usually distinctive voice sounds too slick and commercial, more like a Bat For Lashes tribute than the real thing! Lyrics like ‘a heart from the past that I cannot forget’ are repetitive and lack the dramatic quality of past records; it’s a pretty far cry from ‘What’s A Girl To Do’. Bastilles ‘Flaws’ is similar, it’s a good record, but almost identical to ‘Bad Blood’. Bastille have obviously found a formula that works and are sticking to it but I don’t think they’re ground breaking enough to carry this off. This week won’t make history but ‘How Do You Do’ and ‘It’s Only Love’ are pop at its best!

Student run self help

Written by Rachel Heward on . Posted in Societies.

Student Run Self Help (SRSH) is a country wide organisation that runs peer support sessions for students with eating disorders throughout UK universities.

I spoke to Laura Saunders from the group, who explained, “We work to support students and young people with eating disorders and encourage them to talk about issues they are facing as well as supporting one another. They receive support from two students who are trained facilitators that run each session, as well as other students who suffer from eating disorders.”

It is extremely important that eating disorders are recognised in universities, and students suffering know where to go and who to talk to if they want to. A recent survey from the University of Cincinnati revealed the challenges among university students in recognising the warning signs that lead to eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. While most students were able to identify risk factors such as depression and anxiety, less were able to recognise that situational events such as a recent life change or criticism from a friend or family member can also lead to the disorders.

The survey exposed that females were much more familiar than males with the warning signs of disordered eating such as purging, unexplained weight loss, and distorted body image. It was also noted that some students mistook an eating disorder as a sign of vanity, when it is actually a serious compulsive behaviour that is often used as a coping mechanism for stress.

SRSH are also in association with eating disorder charity B-eat. Their aims are to change the way people think and talk about eating disorders, to improve the way services and treatment are provided and to help anyone believe that their eating disorder can be beaten. Visit www.b-eat.co.uk for more information, support and opportunities to volunteer and fundraise.

Students suffering from eating disorders can go to the SRSH meetings as frequently as they want. They run support sessions every two weeks in room four of the Students’ Union at 6.30. The next meeting is Monday 29 October.

You can get involved and volunteer with SRSH by becoming trained as a facilitator to run the group sessions as well as helping out with advertising, awareness and fundraising.

For more information about volunteering, or if you need help or advice concerning eating disorders, email [email protected].