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Month: March 2016

Interview: Dhruv Mittal of The Chaiwalla Supperclub

Written by Helena Maxwell-Jackson on . Posted in News.

I first met Dhruv Mittal, the twenty-something creator of The Chaiwalla Superclub, during our first week studying at Le Cordon Bleu—a French culinary school based in London. Since then, Mittal has travelled across India, worked under some of the world’s most renowned chefs and set up a success mittalful supper club right at the heart of London.

However, Mittal wasn’t always based in England’s capital. And it is his childhood in Southern Manchester, his fond memories of trips with his family to the South Asian restaurants on the Curry Mile, that he credits with awakening him to the joy of food.

Photo: The Chaiwalla

“We used to pick a new restaurant each time and go all-out on the menu, then get out just in time to get paan [an Indian betel-leaf refreshment] down the road from a DVD and cassette shop,” Mittal tells me.
“It was the closest thing to home food that we could find and it opened my eyes to the fusion of the various South Asian cuisines that came together in Rusholme.”

During high school food technology classes, Mittal used to dream of attending Le Cordon Bleu. However it was only at age 22—after leaving his job as a project manager in the capital—that he put his dreams into fruition.

After three months of Le Grande Diplome, the school’s most intensive cuisine and patisserie program, Mittal realised he belonged in the kitchen. “I loved the skill, passion, thrill and creativity of being in a kitchen more than anything I had experienced before.

“LCB was definitely the best nine months of my career to date. I learnt all the tools and techniques; from basic knife skills, to cooking different meats and the art of flawless presentation and taste.”

Not only did Le Cordon Bleu teach him the skills required in a professional kitchen, but the school’s reputation opened doors for him at high end of the catering industry: “I was openly accepted to stage at some of the leading Michelin starred restaurants in the country and even abroad in India, many hotels were more than keen to take me on to train.”

It was during his time in India that Mittal saw the potential of The Chaiwalla Supperclub: “I wanted to showcase the best of Indian street food, regional specialities and home favourites that you wouldn’t find anywhere else in the UK… I wanted to bring that flavour and authenticity but in an intimate, personal environment.”

For Mittal, tradition and authenticity are key to the food he serves at The Chaiwalla Supperclub: “I always aspire to create dishes in the exact way they have been for generations… There’s a strong focus on great produce, fresh and vibrant spices, and above all creating a family environment to enjoy the food together. Rarely will Indians sit down to eat with only one dish, there’s always at least three to four dishes on the table, and the experience is only true when all the food is being shared around. That social aspect to Indian dining is also what inspired the Supperclub.”

With plans to open a restaurant within the next couple of years, Dhruv Mittal is certainly one to watch. I ask him what advice he would offer inspiring foodies. “Be prepared for the hard graft, master the basics, follow your passion not the money, and finally find your voice early on and continue to spend time growing it and developing it. You will never know enough when it comes to food and hospitality.”

Jamestown Way, London E14 2DA

thechaiwalla.co.uk

Kawaii Culture: The Psychology of Sweetness

Written by Kyle Zabawa on . Posted in Fashion & Beauty.

Introductory Insights

Have you ever laid eyes upon something so cute, so heart-warmingly adorable, that you get the urge to squeeze whatever the trigger might be within an inch of its life? Close friends would likely describe me as a hard-nosed stoic with a chilly little heart, yet even I am prone to this occasional mystifying sensation when presented with images of the splendid Fennec Fox (Google Images is your friend, readers). Psychologists think that this could be a result of an evolutionary glitch, that our emotions can sometimes work in paradoxical ways, deducing that the joy experienced when witnessing whatever we deem to be toxically cute, can also prompt a frisson of mild aggression.

Cuteness has, even in recent years, become synonymous with Japanese fashion and culture. Growing up in England, where, for instance, our most celebrated fashion icons are often conservatively dressed and our advertisements are professional, glossy and airbrushed to the last detail, the idea of dressing and behaving in a childish manner above the age of sixteen is severely frowned upon and almost taboo. Drawing primarily from Sharon Kinsella’s fascinating essay on Kawaii culture, entitled ‘Cuties in Japan’, I’m going to take you on a journey to East Asia, exploring the psychology of cuteness, reviewing the origins of the kawaii lifestyle and wrangling with how this all ties in to current conversations regarding expressions of femininity, feminism, fashion and beyond.

Getting to the Root of Cute

“…You Harajuku Girls, Damn You’ve Got Some Wicked Style” (Gwen Stefani)

2004 was a simpler time. 12 years ago, pop culture icon, Gwen Stefani, introduced the world to the ‘Harajuku Girls’. This backup-dancing quartet of young Japanese women accompanied Gwen for all promotional appearances, be that in her music videos (for example the Alice In Wonderland themed ‘What You Waiting For?’ which this writer adores), red carpet events or chat show appearances.

This presence of the Harajuku Girls, however, has been criticized as a reinforcement of negative stereotypes of Asian women within the media. The women, critics feel, were employed to be ‘props’—rumours circulate online to this day that they were “contractually obliged” to speak only Japanese in public. A fine line does indeed exist between appreciation and appropriation. Was Gwen, a white American woman, using her entourage’s race for her own personal gain?

Gwen herself has always denied these claims, arguing in 2014 to TIME magazine that the girls were her friends in real life outside of the performance world and that she wished only to celebrate a culture different from her own, of which she had always been a fan. Gwen’s fans in Asia have also been complimentary of what they believe to be her inclusiveness, bringing kawaii culture to the mainstream western world through her highly successful Harajuku Lovers perfume range and fashion lines, for instance.

Photo: Gwen Stefani

When Sweet Refuses to Take a Backseat

Nevertheless, potentially problematic pop stars aside, what exactly is it that constitutes a kawaii aesthetic? I wouldn’t be appropriately honouring my Linguistics degree without first conducting a little etymological research. Derived from a term with principle meanings along the lines of ‘shy’ and ’embarrassed’ alongside secondary meanings such as ‘pathetic’ and ‘vulnerable’, ‘kawaii’ has not always had the connotations with which it is associated today.

Heavily influenced by American and European style, kawaii in its noun and adjective forms refers to anything small, pastel and fluffy. Buildings, public transport and even construction equipment are personified and re-personalised through the use of quirky googly-eye stickers. Although a very wry humour seems to underlie the style, it is claimed that in Japan, there are no boundaries to the notion of camp (or even a concept of it), as the delightful sign pictured below demonstrates.

Photo: Roland Tanglao @ Flickr

Kawaii, it is claimed, originates in a handwriting craze of 1970s Japan (please bear with me on this one). Rebellious teenage girls, desperate to express a young, feminine identity of their own in a society that represses such a demographic, took to using highly stylized, rounded, fine pencil strokes, adorning their characters with hearts, stars, fruits and faces. The distinctive and difficult-to-decipher nature of this so called ‘kitten writing’ caused major discipline problems in Japan; in some schools it was eventually banned and test papers submitted in this style were not marked. If anything, this disciplinary action in fact spurred the style on further—it later developed into an underground, anarchic literary trend, proving that, for young Japanese girls at least, the pen really is mightier than the sword.

Advertising agencies and businesses alike soon cottoned on to how lucrative kawaii style products could prove, especially for a demographic as identity- and fashion-conscious as young women. Almost overnight, starting with products as simple as crockery, notebooks and purses, the seemingly attractive and rebellious kawaii culture was embraced and celebrated throughout commercial Japan.

This new generation of rebellious women rejected the previous traditional values of condemnation of materialism or displays of wealth. Perfect childlikeness is an unattainable ideal that becomes even less attainable over time. This very concept generated a market that demanded an endless stream of ephemeral products, increasingly designed to meet the demands of looking and acting as childlike as is humanly possible. It would seem that this underlying drive is also what contributes further to the highly consumerist, Instagram culture within which we live today.

Furthermore, lifestyle magazines praised childlike fashion. An emphasis was placed on demure, youthful styles that incorporated pastel colours, fluffy frills and puffed sleeves. Influences from French, punk and preppy styles to this day remain highly prevalent. Most importantly, clothing was to be slim-fitted.

Plastic accessories were lauded, as were colourful socks, small sandals and novelty hairpins. The photography featured in these magazines juxtaposed sweetness with grown up settings, portraying young models clad in kawaii clothing in metropolitan nightclubs and streets.

Kawaii and Feminism: A Naïve Nightmare or a Perfect Pairing?

Is this saccharine styling conducive to the feminist movement, however? Embracing the kawaii lifestyle to the extreme essentially involves ‘becoming’ a cute object. From purchasing cute products to surrounding oneself with sweetness, these choices have the potential to transform someone’s identity. To be out of touch with reality, living in a pastel daydream, encourages hedonism and the pursuit of only the simplest of pleasures.

It could even be claimed that behaving as a child is even an act of self-mutilation, as is depicted by the pigeon-toed stances and postures portrayed in images of women promoting kawaii fashion. Glossy eyed expressions, aspiring to an infantile ideal and feigning stupidity and naivety are all a compromise. To display as a child an adult is, critics of the style argue, to deny the qualities of insight and introspection associated with maturity. In its extreme form, kawaii is a subservient behaviour rooted in becoming dependent on others as opposed to becoming empowered by one’s own identity (this latter being a core value of feminism). This lack of responsibility further reinforces the hegemonic status of masculinity. The physical frailty depicted through the fetishized imagery of a sweet, little girl contributes in a damaging way to perceptions of women and femininity.

Dedicated followers of the kawaii lifestyle argue to the contrary, however, claiming that a woman who embraces her cuteness is far more elusive than first sight would suggest. Opposition is taken in particular to the construction of the style as designed exclusively for the male gaze. Could it be that this birth of a whole new culture, so different from traditional Japanese values, was an indirect response to sexist stereotypes through ‘conscious taunting’ of societal expectations?

Women with a penchant for the saccharine are those who are no longer obligated to please a man. They embrace their freedom; they are young and successful, spend a large amount of money on their self and enjoy time with like-minded friends. They view their lives as privileged, with ‘maturity’ being perceived as a threat to this lifestyle. Some Japanese feminists argue that is, in reality, anarchic, to idolize a romanticised childhood. The kawaii lifestyle challenges values central to societal structure in Japanese culture. Women are happy to experiment with their femininity and are conscious of doing so in what they perceive to be a refusal to conform to traditional female roles through dressing and acting in a youthful manner.

In a similar way to the rise of raunch culture in the western world (which sees women acting in a sexually charged manner to emphasise independence and maturity), Japanese youth equally infuriated their elders with uncooperative handwriting, child-like behaviour and pastel clothing. Emphasising immaturity and inability to fulfil societal responsibilities can be envisaged as a counter mainstream movement, condemning the bleak severity of an impending and inevitable adulthood.

Sayōnara

Ultimately, the jury remains out for whether our human appreciation of cuteness is maternal and solicitous, or the result of a transformative, prying gaze. Are we appeasing a hunger for expressing pity, or honing in on an instinctive good-heartedness? Either way, kawaii offers an escape from the often-cold reality of the twenty-first century. Consumption of culture will always be a way for humans to fulfil our underlying needs and desires.

There is a salient simplicity and emotional warmth that comes with the innocence of nostalgia. Childhood is a time when (if fortunate) we can be free. With its cheap, pastel plastic heart, the kawaii lifestyle further reinforces how complex real life itself can be. Adulthood can be brutal and harsh, false and shallow: It almost seems somewhat natural to wish to revert to a simpler time in one’s life, even if that means embracing all things cute.

Photo: C_osett @ Flickr

Album: Kanye West – The Life of Pablo

Written by Jacob Bernard-Banton on . Posted in Music.

Released 14th February via GOOD Music

7/10

Kanye West’s The Life of Pablo was always going to be as polarising as the man who made it. Over the course of 18 tracks, he goes from wishing his penis had a GoPro to exhibiting hitherto undisclosed self-awareness on ‘I Love Kanye’: “I miss the old Kanye,” he opens, “I hate the new Kanye… the always rude Kanye.” His taste is as omnivorous as ever.

’30 Hours’ finds West ad libbing and taking a mobile phone call over an Arthur Russell sample, while André 3000 provides vocal garnishing. What started brilliantly turns self-indulgent, but something about his extended, half-arsed coda is very entertaining. ‘Fade’ drops into slinky, muffled Chicago house—crisp TR-909 handclaps and all. The arrival of grating autotuned singing, gospel voices and low-slung, chattering trap threaten to overwhelm the tune, until it abruptly stops.

Everything here, like West himself, is inconsistent. ‘Facts (Charlie Heat Version)’ showcases West’s flagrant self-aggrandisement (“2020, I’ma run the whole election!”) against crunching beats and tiresome bombast. Kid Cudi’s vocal hook compliments ‘Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1’ remarkably well amid West’s lacklustre verses; its superior second part comes laden with distorted handclaps, icy synths, and fleeting references to West’s parents’ divorce.

‘Feedback’ struts with what appears to be a whining, high-pitched police-siren as its lead melody—it might piss off some, it might delight others. Many will just clench their fists. Still, for every ludicrous boast (“Name one genius that ain’t crazy… I shouldn’t even bother with all these gossiping, no-pussy-getting bloggers”), there’s a brief glimmer of self-awareness (“I’ve been outta my mind a long time”). ‘FML’ is less involving, both lyrically and musically, until a bizarre interpolation of Section 25’s ‘Hit’ heaves into view—the thrilling, disturbing sound of its creator’s mind unravelling.

‘Freestyle 4’ and ‘Famous’ both encapsulate the entire record: Less songs than splintered, sporadic and fragmented ideas. …Pablo feels like Yeezus—noted for its impressively abrasive brutality and brevity—engulfed in a protracted bipolar episode, growing more introverted and ecstatic with each track. Both ‘Wolves’ and ‘Real Friends’ are truly affecting. They sound doleful, though glancing at their lyrics, they’re anything but. The former appears to have West compare himself, his wife and young son Saint to Joseph, Mary and Jesus; on the latter, he laments the fact that he has no real friends, less doleful than a bit whingey.

Some tracks fall flat: The less said about ‘Low Lights’ or the supremely uninteresting ‘Waves’ the better. But when it works, like the jaw-dropping ‘No More Parties in LA’, it really works. Hands down, it is the album’s best track. However, it puts forward the compelling argument that despite his sonic achievements, West’s lyrical dexterity has been surpassed by others, namely guest rapper Kendrick Lamar, who delivers funny, dexterous rhymes over Madlib’s effortless production.

West, ‘No More Parties…’ aside, is rarely on the kind of form he displayed on previous albums, scant on the incisive social commentary of ‘New Slaves’, and even the braggadocio here feels rehearsed. Yet it wouldn’t be a Kanye West album if it wasn’t a flawed tour de force.

HOME Pick of the Week: Freeheld

Written by Nadia Cheung on . Posted in Film.

Laurel Hester (Julianne Moore), a loyal police lieutenant serving Ocean County, New Jersey, for more than 23 years, has kept her sexuality a secret from her workplace until realising that she just might die from terminal lung cancer and wants her domestic partner, Stacie Andree (Ellen Page), to receive her pension, so that she can keep the house that they renovated together.

The film starts off relatively mediocre in what can be seen as an attempt at attracting sympathy between the couple as the film goes on. With love scenes and what I could describe as possibly the driest, and laziest attempt at articulating a love relationship between two individuals—a crappy house renovating/tender love-making montage that elicited no on-screen chemistry whatsoever. I also had a problem with the way that the film had to justify Stacie as the butch lesbian because she likes motorcycles, works in mechanics and likes dogs. Stacie is obviously younger, but Ellen Page’s portrayal is more childlike and mopey, rather than showing any real feeling toward her partner, who is dying and fighting for this pension battle for most of the film’s duration. What’s the point?

Where the film probably gets its title, is likely due to the relationship its dying protagonist has with the freeholders who get to make a decision on whether her domestic partner is allowed to have her pension when she passes…or not. Obviously, at this time, around 2005 or 2006, gay marriage was not as legalised all over the United States like it is now. So it seems this film tries to be lots of different things, but it comes to nothing, feeling irrelevant in 2015 or even 2016. The battle is already won, so what is the motive? A critique at Republicans dominating law and order? I don’t know. There’s a lot of long-winded politics in this film, which feels more dry as it goes on, and Steve Carrell introduces himself as Steven Goldstein—a “big gay Jew” and rallies for gay marriage even though Laurel Hester just wants her equality and her goddamn pension. So which is it? A political film or a love story? Because it can’t be both. But what it can be is an exemplar film for True Movies, because it is so dry, boring and dull that I would never ever ever want to talk about it ever again because I hate political films. Especially when they’re outdated. And Ellen Page is the worst and it felt like Freeheld was just another film trying to do something that Still Alice did when they cast Julianne Moore.

I know this film has good intentions of making a biopic out of a real life story that matters in society and was an act of injustice and so forth. But this story already had an Academy Award-winning documentary short. So why did the director even bother? Without putting it all on Peter Sollett, I just have to say that script was equally bad, if not worse, than everything else in this film.

1/5

Your quick guide to feminism in the Northern Capital

Written by Louisa Hall on . Posted in Lifestyle.

Manchester: The birthplace of Emmeline Pankhurst, the origin of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) and, of course, the base of the recently celebrated Reclaim the Night marches. In a city full of politically and morally fired-up groups, which campaign for equality across an unimaginable spectrum, becoming part of the feminist movement is easier than you may think.

We’re on the cusp of ‘Wonder Women’—a vibrant festival spreading across 10 days (3rd – 13th March) during which many events will be scattered around the city, from discussions about modern feminism, to performances and films ranging from the women of World War I to female restriction, and a particularly eye-catching workshop on the “most badass Northern women.” With such a great variety, it would be difficult to miss out.

Feminism doesn’t have to be all protests, marches and passionate shouting; becoming involved in upcoming events such as Women in Comedy (mid-to-late October) also helps to support and promote equality. This festival is a platform for female comedians who want to prove their valuable contribution within the comedy scene, and to diminish unequal gender distribution.

The rich feminist history of Manchester is worth further exploring, with a number of separate Feminist Walking Tours being available. This doesn’t even have to be official; the Pankhurst Centre could be a significant (and free!) starting point on your independent ‘Feminist Trail’.

There are so many ways to connect yourself to the feminist groups in Manchester; whether you’re more suffragist or suffragette, a pacifist or an activist, a shouter or a whisperer, a man or a woman, there are plenty of ways to get involved.

Review: How to Be Single

Written by Esther Hamilton-Ivory on . Posted in Film.

Following the huge success of female-led films such as Amy Schumer’s Trainwreck and Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s Sisters, How to Be Single has much to live up to. The film explores the journey of a young woman named Alice (Dakota Johnson) living in New York, and attempting to navigate her life as a newly single woman. Along the way, she befriends the riotous Robin (Rebel Wilson), and they share many wild nights out together partying. Following several failed relationships, Alice arrives at the state of harmony where she believes she live can happily, and unapologetically, single. In order for such a predictable storyline to have an effect, it needs to be executed perfectly—or the audience will be left feeling cold and manipulated. Unfortunately, How to Be Single doesn’t quite succeed in doing this.

Perhaps the film’s greatest success, like in Trainwreck, was the candid way it explores female sexuality and femininity—something to be proud of. Robin’s hearty sexual appetite is depicted as healthy and enjoyable and not at all like a coping mechanism for a heart left shattered by a cheating man—such a familiar trope in so many romantic comedies. The women in the film are, and rightfully so, are never questioned or shamed for their personal choices; whether it be committing their lives to their careers, or wanting to enjoy a fast-paced partying lifestyle. Although the film is progressive in this sense, it is nevertheless difficult to ignore the disappointing fact that these three women are still very much stereotypes. Leslie Mann’s character finds herself unfulfilled as a result of her childlessness, reinforcing the perception that a woman is only truly a woman and happy as one when she has kids. Similarly, Rebel Wilson’s character is portrayed as being genuinely content and settled into her life choices. But towards the end of the film, Robin is revealed to be, in fact, filthy rich—suggesting maybe that the filmmakers felt it might be too harrowing for her to be a woman, living alone and making the choices she has because she doesn’t need a regular salary.

Perhaps taking the film only as social commentary is the wrong thing to do. In terms of its capabilities as a romantic comedy, it certainly succeeds on many levels. Rebel Wilson provides terrific light entertainment with her slapstick—particularly what looked like very real—titty punches and references falling into “dick sand”. It certainly has romance, too: the sweetest (and most unbelievable) relationship with Jake Lacey’s character’s unwavering love for Meg. The scenes of downing never-ending shots to a thumping soundtrack were undeniably entertaining to watch, too.

Yet, as a whole, it seemed that the film lacked direction—a problem which can be seen in some of Christian Ditter’s other films, like Love Rosie. The last 15 minutes of this film was made up out of a series of unfitting and laboured conclusions, with a voice-over from Dakota Johnson’s character, clumsily tying the film together. Having to be told how all the characters are feeling at this point—rather than be allowed to decide for ourselves—distances the viewer and increases the sense of directorial catch up.

All in all, How to Be Single fundamentally fails to evoke a great emotional response in ways that Trainwreck did. It does manage, however, to make an attempt at tackling the detrimental and stereotypical perceptions of the modern day woman that are so enforced in so many mainstream films. The ending of the film is a testament to this—instead of running across the city to a man once realising she is in fact in love with him, Alice runs to her friend, Robin. It is a shame that the rest of the film couldn’t combine these two elements of traditional entertainment and critiquing important issues in a seamless way.

3/5

Xenoblade Chronicles X – Review

Written by Josh Goldie on . Posted in Games.

Back in 2010 there was an internet movement known as ‘Project Rainfall’. The idea behind this was to convince Nintendo to localise three games on the Wii that had gained some notable notoriety online due to the positive reception in Japan and the prestige behind them. These three games were Pandora’s Tower, The Last Story, and Xenoblade Chronicles. In the end, Nintendo of Europe would bite the bullet and localise the games in English, and all three titles were met with a positive reception. Out of these three games the most famous, and by far the most popular, was Xenoblade Chronicles by Monolith Soft. This gargantuan game was easily the best JRPG (Japanese Role-Playing Game) in a long time. The game was successful enough both here and in Japan that the games protagonist managed to earn himself a space on the roster for Super Smash Bros on Wii U and 3DS, was remade for New 3DS in 2015 and eventually got a sequel for the Wii U called Xenoblade Chronicles X, which launched in Japan April of last year and December for the rest of the world.

The first Xenoblade Chronicles was known for many things. It had a very likeable cast of characters and a very strong story that spanned 100+ hours. A big draw of the first game was its world. The land of the Bionis and Mechonis, two titans who killed each other in combat, and from their corpses the world was born, was breathtaking and looked absolutely stunning, especially for a game on the Nintendo Wii. This world was packed with life from collectible material, people with side-quests to give you and lots of monsters with varying ranges. One step into the Guar Plains really showed off how great this game could be.

Unfortunately with such great scenery, something was inevitably there as a counter, and these were the character models. They were not good, especially the faces, which was slightly disappointing. The combat was done in real-time and used a new style of fighting where you and your team would auto-attack while you decided what special abilities they would pull-off. These abilities were called Arts and ranged from a certain type of attack, healing, stat buff/debuff and aggro among many more. All this went together perfectly to make an ultimate JRPG experience and is a game I recommend everyone to try. However, it is not the game I am reviewing today. The reason I am explaining the first game to you now is because the games sequel, Xenoblade Chronicles X, takes everything from the first game and expands on it; unfortunately, not all of these expansions are an improvement.

Photo: Nintendo Co., Ltd., Monolith Soft, Inc.

We will start this review with the positives, and the first thing to note in this game is its world. The world of Mira is massive and beautiful. There are five main environments to be found on Mira with two lesser areas that you will visit. The main areas consist of a huge plain and mountains called Primordia, something very similar to the Guar Plains but with an even greater sense of awe; there is the giant rainforest of Noctilum with huge vines, swamps and insects to be found; the area to the east is the ruined desert of Oblivia with lightning rain and floating islands; there is the ash soaked valley of Sylvalum which is guarded by ancient monsters and giant robots that patrol the area looking to destroy other mechanical life; and finally in the far north is Cauldros, a land of fire a brimstone where only the most powerful of monsters can survive.

While visiting these areas you may sometimes find yourself travelling across Mira’s great sea and discovering little Islands along the way. If you ever find yourself needing some downtime there is also the final area that acts as your main hub: New LA. New LA is a bustling metropolitan filled with humans and other peaceful alien life. New LA really does feel like a living, breathing town lost in the heart of an alien planet and that is exactly what it is. This games biggest strength is the fact that you really feel like you are exploring an undiscovered alien planet and it creates a sense of adventure in the soul that no other game has done to me before.

This breathtaking world could not come to live if it wasn’t for the amazing HD graphics that this game has an over. This title really shows exactly what the Wii U can do and looks a lot better than many of the games you would find on the PS4 or Xbox One, at least from a distance. When you actually jump into the game you will end up finding that up close not everything is as great as you might have expected, with the character models still being the worst of the bunch. In Xenoblade Chronicles X you have the ability to create your own character which is new to the series. However this comes with a downside, as all the playable cast essentially has the same build. This is to allow for any outfit or weapon to work on any character but it creates the problem that characters either look really generic or have really odd faces up close.

The only exceptions to this are Elma and Lin who are the de facto main characters, as the story follows them along with the Avatar character, but more on that in a bit. The player may find themselves running into graphical issues when entering into a new area with textures not loading or just looking rather choppy and some elements like cars and planes literally go through the player which kills some of the immersion. However with all this said there is an upside. It becomes somewhat understandable why all of this happens when you realize that there are practically zero load screens in this whole game. The whole world, minus one or two areas, is one gigantic map that the player can freely enter from any side and at any time without restriction. The game’s focus is freedom and exploration, and Xenoblade Chronicles X captures this perfectly.

Photo: Nintendo Co., Ltd., Monolith Soft, Inc.

Another new feature of Xenoblade Chronicles X is the class and Skell mechanics. As the main character is an avatar they do not have a set weapon or ability layout like the characters from the first game. Instead you have access to a full range of classes and weapons to pick from. You can decide to be a jack-of-all trade or prioritize one specific loadout. With each of these classes come different skills and Arts you can equip to make your character play like you want him to. The player moves around in a squad, with a maximum of four members, and while you can change the classes of your partners, there are more than enough of them to truly customize every aspect of battle.

Unfortunately, as cool as the class system is, it almost becomes pointless when the Skells are introduced. The Skells are basically giant robots, like Transformers or any mech anime, which the player can pilot from the inside. The Skells have all their own stats and abilities and offer a better damage output, more health and more manoeuvrability when travelling the world. In exchange for this you will likely never use your class loadout again until the game forces you into ground segments. This is all worth it though as soon as you unlock the ability to fly, as flying around Mira with 4 Skells feels amazing, and the music really helps to make the moment feel special, especially the first time you set off.

There are two more combat features that play a role in this game, both during ground and Skell combat, and these are Soul Voice and Tension Points. Soul Voice replaces healing in this game and takes some getting used to. Essentially, you have to be a good team mate. Your partners will sometimes make requests of you such as ‘Move in close with a melee attack’ or ‘I could use a buff’. These prompts are met with a coloured border and require the player to use an art of that same colour. This will not only increase your affinity with that character but activate a quick time event that upon entering correctly both you and the character you helped will get some health back. It seems complicated but it will eventually become natural and the same can be said for the Tension Points (TP).

Over battle various factors increase your characters TP such as morale, auto-attacking, and as a side-effect of certain Arts.  TP can then be used to perform certain Arts; specifically Auras which have miscellaneous effects on you or your party, and for activating Overdrive. Overdrive is a special mode where all of you characters stats will increase for a set amount of time. The time you are in Overdrive can be extended by the arts you perform and the more TP you can earn while in Overdrive. This skill is absolutely required to learn for the later parts of the game, and this can seem quite confusing at first, so I recommend paying sharp attention when they explain this in the game.

Photo: Nintendo Co., Ltd., Monolith Soft, Inc.

That covers it for all the gameplay parts of this game so now is a good time to discuss the music. The music for this game was done by popular Japanese artist Hiroyuki Sawano who is well known for his work on Blue Exorcist and Attack on Titan. He puts his usual style into the world of Xenoblade and it is certainly not for everyone but personally I found it to be very cheesy, camp, and ultimately very awesome. Every track feels different and matches what is happening on screen. The various songs that play during a battle match the scope of the fight and make you feel pumped. The music that plays when you fly through the sky is also magical while Noctilum’s theme is probably my favourite of all of them, as it makes you really feel like an explorer of unknown lands. Not all the songs are good; the night-time New LA theme is just strange, but for the most part this game OST is definitely one I would like to own myself.

So, finally we come to this game’s negative, and I was saving it for the end because it is quite major: The story is pretty bad.

The games plot is simple: Aliens have destroyed the Earth but a small section of humanity escaped in various ships. We follow the White Whale which has been shot down and lands on an alien planet. Now it is up to the player character to join the military organization BLADE and help the human race survive by finding the life hold of the ship, where the majority of Earth’s population is asleep in cryogenics. Unfortunately, the Aliens who destroyed Earth have appeared here as well in attempt to finish what they started. The game’s premise is fine, and the world it has built seems like a good one, but the issue is that nothing is given a proper explanation.

Only a handful of the games many plot threads get some kind of resolution and a lot of the character moments are relegated to the side quests (which are vastly improved from the original game, although gathering quests are even more annoying this time due to a lack of direction for the player). There are about six player characters in the game (out of 17) who matter at all and most of them lose all sense of character outside of Elma and Lin as they are required but the fourth character is not so they usually stand there as a lifeless husk. Almost like the main character in this game, your avatar. Shulk was an enjoyable protagonist because he had character, but the issue with using a player controlled avatar this time around is that they have no character. Every so often you pick from a choice of dialogue options but your character never speaks outside of battle and so really just feels like he is a side character to Elma’s story rather than it being the other way around.

Xenoblade Chronicles X is an absolutely wonderful experience and one I recommend any Wii U owner picks up. The gameplay, presentation, and music are fantastic and will keep you engrossed for over 100 hours easily. This can be a problem because it does require some sort of investment, however the game can be tackled with a group of friends (a feature which I, unfortunately, did not get to try). If you are expecting a great story, however, you will be left feeling very disappointed.

Despite this major flaw, I loved Xenoblade Chronicles X and I pray that one day it may see a sequel with a half-decent plot to wrap up everything left behind in this game.

Graze vs EarlyBird

Written by Elizabeth Gibson on . Posted in Food & Drink.

I recently cancelled my EarlyBird subscription, gritting my teeth as I clicked through screen after screen of them wheedling me to stay, to take such an offer, they would miss me so much. But it’s done. Back to Graze. But why? you may well ask if you know anything about these services. Graze is for yummy mummies! EarlyBird is for students! I know. The packaging makes that pretty clear.

I’ll start at the beginning. I had seen Graze advertised but wasn’t that bothered until my mother got an offer on a box. Impressed with its contents, I snapped up the offer myself. I had had recently arrived at Uni and thought it would make a nice little midweek treat, just for a while. Now here I am in fourth year, still receiving a box a week. What is it that’s so magical about a box of healthy snacks?

Whereas I had envisaged them being all nuts and raisins, there is plenty of variety. There are dips, croutons, flapjacks, little cakes with sauce to pour over them… Healthy snacking never seemed so delicious. The snacks come in handy little packets and you have some influence over what you get: you can “bin” snacks online in order to never receive them. By now I know what my dream box is: My Thai, Coco Paradise, Banoffee Dippers, Pomodoro Rustichella. If you’re reading, Graze people…

Then EarlyBird came along. My eyes were continually assaulted by their psychedelic ads and I just wasn’t interested—I had Graze. Then I got an offer and took it, and my first EarlyBird Box arrived. Accustomed to the lovely naturalness of the brown cardboard cuboid that is a Graze Box, I was now greeted by a glaring hexagon of clashing colours.

Inside I found two teas, some decent artwork and five snacks. The snacks are pretty repetitive and very similar to Graze ones but with less pizazz. Additionally, getting into their individual plastic packaging is difficult, though apparently they are planning to change that. The tone of EarlyBird’s e-mails and general branding is very matey and can get annoying rather quickly.

I never intended to be subscribed for any length of time to one snackbox, yet alone two, and Graze won. However, EarlyBird is a new company so with time and space they may develop and find their identity. Hopefully they’ll mellow out a little where colours and voice are concerned. Some of their snacks do show promise and I like their idea of incorporating art and music.

Subscription boxes are taking off in so many industries—fashion, beauty, books, music. Maybe it’s due to our increasing laziness; we don’t want to prepare these snacks ourselves. Or maybe in an age where, thanks to the Internet, we almost always know what’s going to happen, we just like being surprised once a week or month. Maybe one day I’ll receive that dream Graze combination and that is a day you will see me smile.

Swastika defaces Manchester Exec candidate’s banner

Written by Marcus Johns on . Posted in News, Opinion.

A candidate in the University of Manchester Students’ Union Exec Officer elections has had campaign materials defaced with a swastika.

The candidate previously found one of their posters spoiled with “Shut Up” written on it, whilst others have been torn down. Two further banners were torn down and have also gone missing, with the candidate unable to find or recover them.

The swastika drawn in green ink appeared over the weekend. It was drawn onto a banner hanging on the outside of the Students’ Union’s Steve Biko building facing Oxford Road and the Manchester Universities and RNCM Catholic Chaplaincy building.

The banner was removed on Sunday night by Students’ Union staff.

The candidate told The Mancunion: “Students have resorted to vandalism and sabotage to express their dissent, which is completely wrong.

“I find it very unsettling that someone would feel it is acceptable to graffiti the Nazi swastika on a candidate’s campaign material. Ultimately, it’s an act of vandalism and libellous.”

Women in Media Conference

Written by Jennifer Sterne on . Posted in Lifestyle.

I recently asked a group of Year 9 students what their dream job would be; one responded “a journalist, but I won’t ever be one because my dad’s told me that journalism is just for men.” This unfortunately was not a shocking statement to hear. Far too often girls accept claims that some careers are “not for women” or at least not easily so, so think that it’s not worth the effort.

This was one of the driving forces behind the conception of the Women in Media Conference, a conference aimed at empowering women’s confidence in themselves and their ability to enter into their career, by hearing from the inspirational women who have created successful careers within the media.

In order to believe in their own possibilities, women and more importantly young girls need to have role models to model their own aspirations on. This was made far too clear by what 11-year-old Destiny told some Women in Media organisers: “I don’t want to go to university because there aren’t any famous women who have done that.”

Young girls can be easily convinced of the belief that journalism is just for men, as sadly it is a belief backed up by evidence. With only two female editors of national dailies in the country and no female heads of broadcast companies, to say it is a career “just for men” is not a huge jump to make.

This belief shouldn’t be so easily justified and that is what makes the Women in Media Conference such an important event. The conference was started by a group of women working within student media who, unfortunately, noticed the national trends of gender imbalance at a student level.

When first proposed it seemed liked a nice idea, but few of us thought it would take off quite like it has. In the first meeting we discussed perhaps getting a few local journalists down to the Students’ Union to talk to people working within our Manchester Media Group. But the conference has received previously unimaginable amounts of attention from speakers and students alike. Within the week, we will have students from across the country arrive at the Anthony Burgess centre to hear from women who are coming from as far away as Hawaii.

What’s more, the conference has managed to attract some of the biggest names in the industry, including Louise Court from Hearst Magazines; Helen Pidd, North of England Editor of The Guardian; Jane Bradley, Investigations Correspondent at Buzzfeed; Fran Yeoman, the Assistant Editor of the i; Shelley Alexander, Editorial Lead on women’s sport at the BBC; and Sam Walker, BBC 5 Live Presenter. With new people being added to the timetable all the time, the conference is set to be a weekend-long celebration of some of the most inspirational women within the media, a clear reflection that a career in this field most certainly isn’t restricted to men.

The weekend’s events will consist of three exciting panel discussions on: the rise of females’ influence in the media, invaluable knowledge that the speakers wish they’d known at the start of their careers, and feminism in the fashion industry. Alongside these discussions, there will be keynote speeches from Shelley Alexander and Louise Court. Students will also be able to take part in the various workshops on offer, including freelance journalism, commercial media, and how to play to and be proud of your strengths.

Ultimately, the conference aims to highlight that there are a plethora of successful females within the industry, and that equality within the industry is becoming ever closer. Until more women believe they can and will reach these positions of power, there will never be lasting change.

Hopefully the Women in Media Conference will be a step in the right direction direction, but it is just one step. We hope that its legacy is long-lasting, so that in our future as student journalists, and the futures of countless young girls around the world, gender never acts as a barrier to our aspirations.

Tickets for the Women In Media Conference are available to all—regardless of gender or student status. A weekend ticket costs £11, a day ticket £5, and a ticket for Friday evening’s live music & networking event is £3.

Top Five: Female innovators in the fashion industry

Written by Talia Lee-Skudder on . Posted in Fashion & Beauty.

1) Anna Wintour 

It is impossible to write about the most influential women in fashion and not mention the editor-in-chief of American Vogue. Known for her iconic look and chilly demeanor, Wintour is a force to be reckoned with. Her 28-year reign as editor has seen her transform and reinvigorate Vogue into the powerhouse that we know and love today. It was Wintour who made the creative decision to feature celebrities on the cover, thus marking an end to the era of the supermodel. Wintour is also an avid advocate of new talent and, alongside the Council of Fashion Designers of America, has helped to create a new fund to support rising designers. In 2009, Wintour launched ‘Fashion’s Night Out’ which allows for the general public to shop and socialise with major personalities in the fashion sphere. Wintour had a vision for Vogue that encapsulated the essence of the modern day woman and this has assured the longevity of the most influential fashion magazine.

Photo: nadiathinks@ Flickr

2) Natalie Massenet

Perhaps not as widely recognised as Anna Wintour, Natalie Massenet is and continues to be an incredibly influential voice in the fashion industry. A journalist-turned fashion entrepreneur, Massenet is the mastermind behind the online shopping website Net-a-Porter and its sister site The Outnet. Styled in a magazine format, the website is the one stop shop for designer fashion online. Massenet is a modern genius in the fashion industry, she made designer clothes accessible to people all over the world and in doing so took fashion into the technological era and potentially a lot of women into debt. In 2013, Massenet took over the role of chairman at the British Fashion Council.

3) Victoria Beckham

What makes Victoria Beckham one of the most influential women in fashion is her transformation from a nineties popstar to noughties WAG and finally to a bona fide fashion designer. Long gone are the days of ‘Viva Forever’, this Spice Girl is now a style icon and Vogue cover girl who has taken the fashion world by storm. Launching her own line in 2009, Beckham’s label has gone from strength to strength with her classic designs being admired by celebrities and high fashion magazine editors alike. It is only now that she is a fully-fledged style icon that she can be forgiven for some of the questionable outfit choices of the late nineties and early noughties. That said, any woman who can persuade David Beckham to wear a sarong should be applauded for exceptional persuasive skills. It seems that, in fashion, Victoria Beckham has finally found her true calling.

Photo: Jakkrit Nooklaew@ Flickr

4) Naomi Campbell

One of the five original supermodels, Naomi Campbell has been ever-present in the modeling circle since the age of 15. She has adorned the covers of numerous fashion magazines and featured in many high-end campaigns. However, she is also notorious for her fiery temper and diva ways, which have landed her in court on many occasions. In 2008, she had to undertake 200 hours of community service for kicking and spitting at police after having a tantrum on an air plane at Heathrow… not quite the height of sophistication that has been synonymous with the other influential women who have been mentioned. Despite being a huge diva, verbally abusive and at times probably quite frightening, Campbell has also had a positive impact in the fashion industry. She was the first black model to appear on the cover of TIME magazine, Russian and French Vogue and the first British black model to feature on the cover of British Vogue. Campbell is also a passionate charity worker and has worked with Nelson Mandela. In 2005, she set up ‘Fashion for Relief’: A charity fashion show that raises funds for victims who have been affected by disasters or disease. Whilst Campbell’s behaviour is not always admirable, her influence in the industry is undeniable. Not only did she pave the way for subsequent black models, but she has also used her platform as a model to encourage charitable activism.

Photo: thecoincidentaldndy@ Flickr

5) Charlotte Tilbury

Charlotte Tilbury represents yet another aspect of the industry. Starting her career as a world-class make-up artist, Tilbury was a regular behind the scenes at fashion week and gained an elite celebrity following. In 2013, she launched her own make-up range and since then her popularity has boomed. No longer is her work reserved only for celebrities, her products are now a staple in the everyday woman’s make-up bag. Alongside her strong 100-product range, Tilbury also produces online tutorials to educate her customers on how to achieve the sexy smoky eye of the Dolce Vita palette or the Rock Chick look, inspired by her close friend and top model, Kate Moss. There is no doubt that Tilbury’s make-up range will continue to flourish in the future, leaving many of us make-up lovers lusting after her fabulous products.

Photo: PBunnieP@ Flickr

 

High-Fashion Hypocrisy

Written by Sophie Soar on . Posted in Fashion & Beauty.

Despite its roots in the late 19th century, the modeling industry began to form into what it is today in the 1950s. Fresh-faced and beautifully sensual women, such as the bee-hived Brigitte Bardot, draped in nautical stripes with a lick of eyeliner, sprung to celebrity. Soon followed brand names such as Twiggy, Joanna Lumley and Jean Shrimpton. These multi-talented beauties fast became permeated within the creative world: musicians fell at their feet; their bodies became artwork and muses to photographers; they snapped up acting roles, from Twiggy’s cameo part in The Blues Brothers, to Lumley’s iconic Patsy Stone in Absolutely Fabulous.

Inevitably, with their success and praise came scepticism and aloof uncertainty; the employment of women to promote products was still a foreign concept, and perhaps rightfully so when the job sidelines an individual’s personality to promote a product. Despite these powerful names and fierce characteristics, they were primarily and predominantly applauded for their appearance and figure.

In the 1970s, out crept curvaceous Californian creatures who fast established the supermodel standard. With this new hierarchy came the competitive side, and the career of the elite few rapidly developed as the Eighties fast approached: pay checks volumised in correlation with the hair and its collection of icons. Linda Evangelista famously said ‘I don’t get out of bed for less that $10,000 a day’, placing a price on beauty and cultivating girls’ aspirations to a career based on objectification and voyeurism.

The early Nineties fell upon the fashion industry, bringing with it grunge and denim, platforms and plaid, Naomi and Kate. The two brought with them a revolution in the fashion industry and weight fell off the runway almost overnight. Moss’s stick-like figure and angular features were coined as ‘heroine chic’ and modeling became less associated with the powerful, healthy woman and more with drug taking and the emaciated form.

By the end of the Nineties, the grunge, heroine chic had passed, but the demand for skinny sex appeal resided, unsatisfied, along with the ever-increasing paychecks. Recently retired Gisele Bündchen remains the highest paid model to date: from September 2012 to September 2013, Gisele earned around $42 million, whilst her male counterpart in status earned an estimate of $1.5 million. The industry has changed immensely since its infancy, but the female dominance in the industry retains a strong hold.

Alien, emaciated, prepubescent, the industry today tells a very different story to its establishment in the late Fifties. The current casting requirements immensely contrast the soft-edged cover girls of the decades before, and weight regulations remain a dirty, whispered echo in the casting room.

The industry is not a healthy one, with overt sexualisation of the teenage form, rife inequality between male and female pay, and a morbid obsession with weight. The image of the model has led us to disregard the anonymous majority as clothes hangers, while the leaders firmly dominate.

Despite this, we still love our favourite models and follow them religiously on social media. As a result of their cult following, they use their Internet personalities as a means of promoting the ideological lifestyles more closely associated with their predecessors of the Fifties; perhaps indicative of the industry heading in a full 360. Their status is cleverly manipulated by the industry to speak to the masses, but therein also lies hope still for equality; it fuels optimism for the next generation of models and their powerful input on society.

Treasure Trove

Written by Elena Gibbs on . Posted in Food & Drink.

Levenshulme.

Where?

Let me consult my coffee-stained map, my crumpled set of clues to find the stash of risen loaves, chunky jam preserves and malty sourdough crusts.

X marks the spot halfway between Stockport and Manchester city centre, a 15 minute train ride or an exhilarating 20 minute cycle.

Amongst a narrow high street filled with daytime traffic and open shop displays with an abundance of plastic goods lies the little white box filled with stools and tables, counter and kitchen.

This modest little box is rather like Pandora’s; its relatively small appearance bears no match to its ability to stock the majority of Manchester with artisan bread. It is a gold mine of molasses and apple bloomers, rosemary polenta bakes, and floury croissant knots. Where Pandora’s box opens to reveal a world evil, the wooden door of Trove pumps the air with the irresistible smell of Britain’s staple carbohydrate, the same food that was used to feed the five thousand in Matthew 14:13-21, the food that every bread appreciating non-coeliac in Manchester ought to have tried.

Any Manchester foodie reading this will no doubt be familiar with the omnipresent menu tag ‘supplied by Trove’. Common Bar, Takk, Fig & Sparrow, and 8th Day Co-op are just a few of its proud pioneers.

But as for the source itself, could it match up to memories of that first bite of oil-brushed sourdough on the pan-fried chorizo, shrimp and avocado sandwich a la Common, or the taste of the diced wholemeal boule dipped in olive and balsamic on a friend’s balcony in summer? Trove did not disappoint.

A bustling Sunday proved the patience of the staff as I unintentionally arrived half an hour late (due to unforeseen bike circumstances) to the lunch date. Despite an unwavering supply of potential new custom, my comrade managed to anchor the table with a strong black coffee.

Food arrived in 15 minutes in three variations: eggs benedict, salmon and scrambled, and parsnip hummus with shitake mushrooms on rye and fennel. Bread is the focal point here, but gluten-freers needn’t panic as daily specials, salads, soups and vegan breakfasts are also available.

I like baked bread and I cannot lie. Photo: The Mancunion

The hummus on my sandwich was top-notch, very parsnipy. I devoured it whilst placing order number two of a cardamom 83% salted dark hot chocolate creamed with almond milk. Our server warned that this was not the done thing, and couldn’t promise it would work. But oh, did it work.

We stayed at Trove for two hours, basking in the low bulb lighting and heady fumes of yeast and caffeine. An earl grey and prune scone, lavishly accompanied by the liquid form of the first ingredient, kept us happily floating ashore as the rest of the customers sailed away.

‘Dursley you great prune’. Photo: The Mancunion

The bell tolled 4pm, and we knew it was time to move off. With full tanks, we put up our masts to battle the endless Manchester gale, so enchanted by the spell of Trove that we forgot to loot any treasure.

 

Trove

1032 Stockport Rd,

Manchester

M19 3WX

What do we expect of women in modern society?

Written by Perisha Kudhail on . Posted in Fashion & Beauty.

As the evolution of expectations has shown, women have never had it easy when it comes to looks. From the heroine figure of Twiggy to the big booty of Kim Kardashian, there’s always something that is desired and even expected of us. From looking hot at work to looking smokin’ hot outside work, it seems like an endless wheel of expectation.

It appears that we have become more tolerant of natural beauty, but is natural really what we think? The last time I checked, natural beauty didn’t mean a sea of fleek eyebrows and contouring, and it appears that without these make-up tricks, we are not as desirable. Social media has made it possible to trend a new look, resulting in investments of new products and new expectations.

It is slowly becoming clear that the expectations that are placed on women are actually judged by women themselves. If a woman has missed a hair wash day, it won’t go unnoticed. We are our own critics and we constantly compare ourselves to the women around us. If you go out, you’ll scout out who you’re going out with to gauge what to wear. Interestingly, social media has allowed us to become more expressive with how we dress and look, but that doesn’t equate to no judgement. We still hold a certain judgement to women who don’t even fulfil the basics.

The basics have become a lot more than simply having a good skin day. The basics have become hair removal, good skin, good hair, good make up, good outfit, and a spritz of fragrance. With this checklist becoming the basic expectation of women, it makes us wonder if there really is such a thing as a natural woman? With dating apps like Tinder and Pof, where first impressions really do count, it seems that we are expected to get full marks in the basics checklist and even more.

No one expects women to look like movie stars, but there are certain expectations in certain scenarios (even when it comes to celebrities, with their lives being photographed every second of every day). Has the standard expected of normal women increased? Social media allows us to check out celebrities’ looks and even replicate them, but it seems that we still advocate a more natural look (we just need make-up to achieve it).

Fashion and fluidity

Written by Rebecca Thomas on . Posted in Fashion & Beauty.

Nowadays, there is a growing consensus that having two distinct gender camps, ‘male’ versus ‘female’, is a bit silly, really: The yin-yang model is gradually being replaced by a rainbow variance, and it is increasingly acceptable to wear what speaks to you without worrying which section of the shop it appears in. Fashion is one way in which this antiquated binary thinking has been performed, but there have been times in which the difference between men’s and women’s fashion has been less obvious, and when trends we would recognise today as being the preserve of one, were reversed.

Contemporary fashion is understood to have started around the 1300s, and was solely for men; paintings from the time only depict men’s fashion, reflecting the gender hierarchy and the importance of showcasing wealth. The ideal shape was an inverted triangle, with voluminous upper body and slender legs, covered in ornate buttons and detailing.

Ornamentation and fashion gradually crossed genders, and signs of wealth, such as the fur tippet scarf of the 1600s, were adopted from men by noblewomen. Fashion was for the rich, and men and women wore clothes that referenced one another, with heavy ruff collars and lace, while various political fluxes determined how flamboyant, or conservative, fashion displays were.

Make-up was also worn by both men and women throughout history, with the aligned desire for pale skin, which they achieved with white lead paint. In the 1770s, young men would go on their ‘grand tour’ of Europe, and were hugely concerned with their appearances; their wigs mirrored those of aristocratic women and they carried effeminate handbags, which were later carried by women.

Heels were initially worn by men, with a noblewoman, Catherine de Medici being the first woman to wear them, in the 1530s, to compensate for her short height. Louis XIV, the King of France, in the late 1600s, was renowned for wearing intricate heels, with the fashion for heels worn by both men and women vanishing upon the onset of the World Wars.

The big rise in the divergence of male and female fashion came in the early 1800s with the rise of the ‘gentleman’: men dressed in practical wear to compete in sports, and the flamboyance of previous centuries was rejected. It wasn’t until the beginning of the 1900s that the practical wardrobe began to be worn by women, brought about by women’s suffrage movement and the beginning of World War 1. Important icons such as Coco Chanel and Marlene Dietrich contributed to the acceptance of women in masculine dress, such as trouser suits.

Today’s increasing liberation from gender-rules grew across the last century, with gender-bending icons like David Bowie to thank. The emergence of gender-neutral catwalks and Vivienne Westwood’s recent gender-neutral campaign, show just how far fashion has progressed in the last century.