I want to keep us compromising

I want to talk about the whole phenomenon of action vs. non-action. I've been thinking about it a lot recently, especially as a lot of the decisions or events in my life have been determined or affected by the amount of work I put in, or the little say I have in major scenarios that can affect so much of my future. For example, I felt stressed, but not limited, when I had a university interview, as I had the potential to act and put in work to affect the outcome. Whatever came of the interview would be purely, or at least largely, down to what I brought to the table. With other situations, this isn't the case - I had a portfolio drop-off on Friday, and can't quite fathom how helpless I felt - despite putting all of my work in, the lack of action I had, and could have, on the final decision really scared me. I wondered what more I could do to affect the result, but there wasn't anything - the case was well and truly closed, and it's outcome out of my hands.
I usually sit on the fence a lot when it comes to action; I've always had ideas, but rarely did they fully come to light or manifest in the physical world. My blog was the start of any "action" I've ever really taken, but even then there is more I could have written, more places I could have visited, more people I could have met. I realise now that any shortfalls or disappointments over the last few years have been purely down to a lack of action on my part; in the same way, any benefits, or good experiences over the same period of time have definitely been due to the input I have put in to work on here, in school or with friends and family. It's bizarre how this has only really just hit me now, but it really does seem as though action results in going places, and non-action results in nothing.
Visiting universities has really reaffirmed this belief for me - seeing so many students working so hard, producing so much work...you can't help but want to create and make things yourself.

It wouldn't be a very accurate first impression if I went to an interview in anything less than eccentric get-up. I bought this red jacket at the vintage fair last weekend, and it has very quickly become one of my most prized possessions. I wore it with a huge oversized cardigan from the same vintage fair, a vintage shirt, bag and beret from Depop, Topshop socks and Underground shoes. I felt very powerful floating my way through the streets in a red blur, and think it did a good job of masking how horrifically nervous I was about the drop-off.
As for jewellery, for some reason I decided I needed something a little different, and so coiled the hook of an old earring around the pin of my pencil brooch from paris, which I wore at my neck to keep the shirt closed (It has very few buttons). I also wore crescent moon earrings from Barcelona, and a tattoo choker from ebay.

Ir's been a super busy week, but I'm somewhat calm knowing that there genuinely is nothing else I can do to affect whether I get a place or not - it's all been done now, so all I have to do is wait. I'm excited to get on with Bloom again, as I want the first proper print issue (!!) to be out (finally) in the next few weeks. Here are a few phone photos from recently:

// Frances Ha, I wish I'd known in advance I would have loved to have seen it at a cinema // Fruit and Veg stalls are so colourful and remind me of my childhood // sushi whilst waiting to pick up my portfolio //

Anyway, thanks to Dazed, I was able to watch the Rick Owens AW16 show from the comfort of my home - an evening spent watching show livestreams and dreaming of being in Paris for PFW. One day. (Below photos: screenshots from the Dazed livestream, and catwalk / backstage photos from Vogue.com)

It was a real lesson in fabric  - a clean, muted colour palette, made exciting by Owen's talent with drapery and play on silhouette. Folds, creases, tucks and gathers made fascinating shapes, even hair was abstracted into unusual styles, playing with our pre-determined expectations of shapes and adding a sense of himself to each look. He draped each himself before the show, describing it as a sort of "personal handwriting," reverting the collection back to a time when clothes were personalised, and the conveyor belt of consumerist fashion was a much smaller business. The theme of the collection reflects this: named Mastodon, it draws inspiration from our past selves; there was a distinct cavewoman edge to the shapes and styles of the garments, folds of fabric spilling like lava from underneath long coats, matted hair and wide-legged pants that brought to mind the thick legs of mammoths, and a nod to the lost species the collection was named after. It felt like both a warning and a lesson; in some ways, we should look to our ancestors for inspiration, as perhaps the industry of fashion is becoming too fast-paced and losing it's authenticity (an idea also explored by Xiao Li in her AW16 collection) however, we also must be careful not to regress too far, perhaps by getting so ahead of ourselves that we end up going backwards, into the post-apolocalptic age hinted at through this latest work from Owens. 

Without a doubt, the collection was somewhat unnerving; having high fashion as something highly artistic and a little daunting, as the concept was, was hard to watch without feeling a little uncomfortable. This is exactly what fashion should be about; art is supposed to comfort the disturbed, and disturb the comfortable, and I hope this futuristic take on a past tale is enough to stir the waters of society a little and move more people to take a bigger interest in politics and the environment.
Anyway, I hope you have a lovely week!