Thursday, April 20, 2017

Gucci SS17 Campaign


I'm sorry, I really can't stop. I've talked about Gucci a few times before and I swore I would try not to be repetitive, but when I saw the latest Gucci SS17 campaign, I just had to say something. 

Photographed by Glen Luchford, the campaign which is entitled Soul Scene, features only people of colour. Gucci's choice to use an entire cast of people of colour shows us something we haven't seen much of before in high fashion. 


The campaign draws inspiration from 60's photographer Malick Sidibe, and Northern Soul, which was a 60's American soul movement.

Coming at a time where multiple brands are having major PR slip-ups with advertisements (hello Pepsi), Gucci's diversity has resulted in amazing images that really play on colour. If money was no issue, I would be purchasing pretty much the entire SS17 collection. 

x




Friday, April 14, 2017

Six Things


There's a pink Himalayan salt lamp that sits on my bedside table casting a pink glow around my room at all hours of the day. I work late into the night coping verbal abuse from 40-something year old mums who are angry that their hair has gone flat. I get home after midnight some weekdays, mindlessly shower and then throw myself into bed ready for five hours sleep before I have to be up for classes in the morning. The pink glow of the salt lamp is the only light that greets me when I get home on these late nights

There's an old man who lives next door to me, every-time I go to the bathroom I can hear him at his computer just clicking...clicking....clicking away. If you leave my bathroom window open, you can see him at his computer through the mirror. One night he was watching porn. The bathroom was off limits for me that night. 

There's a big red scar covering my right elbow. I was out one night, not even close to being drunk, despite the doctors all thinking I was. I tripped at a crossing and landed on my right elbow, breaking it. I went to hospital that night with one of my friends who was drunk. We made friends with a boy my age who had broken his knee running away from the police. He now comes to my work sometimes, to buy food, and we silently acknowledge each-other. Hospital buddies. And what about my elbow? Well I now can't straighten out my right arm properly. Or lean on my right elbow. But hey, I have a pretty hectic scar right? 

There's a disposable camera sitting in the back of my wardrobe. The film on it contains pictures of a party I went to ages ago. The film captures the good moments of the party; people I haven't seen in ages, my leopard print faux fur coat which was too hot to wear but I wore it anyway, funky hats, people looking a bit worse for wear, spilt glitter. But what about the bad moments? The film doesn't capture people putting holes in the walls, a drunken fight between two dominant males over nothing really, me sobbing drunkenly on the floor. So do I really want to get the film developed? Honestly, I probably do. But for now the disposable camera stays sitting in a box in the back of my wardrobe, collecting dust. 

There's a soft fluffy white blanket that's been sitting underneath my bed for the past couple of months, waiting for summer to be over. I used to have it on my bed during winter. I remember my mum bought it for me last year when I was cold and still had my arm in a cast. It was huge, and the softest thing I'd ever felt. As it got colder and colder during winter last year I took the blanket with me everywhere. At my house, we would have friends over and we'd stay up until the early hours of the morning until the sun was threatening to break the entrancement of the night. I shared my blanket with my friends, until eventually I began to just share it with one friend in particular. It wasn't even on purpose, I just found myself always sharing it with him. One night after a party, when I was feeling particularly shit, I was sharing this blanket on a small couch downstairs with this friend again. He had pretty blue eyes and he was shy. His eyes always spoke more than he ever did though. His eyes closed as I kissed him for the first time, wrapped up in my soft fluffy blanket. 

There's a manager at my work who I get along quite well with. She's not much older than me. Each shift we have together we always discuss Riverdale. I've recently convinced her to start watching Shameless. Every-time I see however, she always complains about how she feels stuck in her job and how she doubts herself. Sometimes I just want to grab her and shake her, I don't think she realises how amazing she is. It makes me wonder why we all doubt ourselves. We really are all so powerful.

x

Sunday, April 2, 2017

Train Stations


There's a certain feeling you get when you're standing in a busy airport, waiting to board your plane. Or when you're waiting for your train at an empty train station late at night. Or even when you go down to the beach really early in the morning, just as the sun is peeking above the horizon, wishing you a good morning. I don't think anyone can really describe this feeling, but I've noticed that they all hold a similarity. 

All our lives, we're always looking to the future. Wondering what's next for us. What will happen when we finish our degree? Will we get a job straightaway? Am I always going to be friends with these people? Where will I live in the next ten years? Our brains constantly work overtime, always pondering what could possibly be in store for us. There's no way of telling what's to come. But our brains never realise this. And so the thinking continues. 

For some of us, those thoughts take hold and control us. Not only thoughts of the future, but also thoughts off the past. Memories that are plaguing us, holding us back. The mind is a beautiful and powerful place. It can show you memories you don't want to forget, playing them over and over like a broken record. Those memories can hold you back, keeping your mental self in the past, constantly chasing that moment that made you feel as if your head was spinning and your heart was going to pop out of your chest. But what does it do for your physical self and the present world around you? 

That's why I think there's such a beauty in busy airports, or late night train stations. They're never permanent destinations. They're just a part of the journey. They're a place that our minds can rest and feel at ease. Be it only for a few minutes or so. We don't have to think about the future, or think about what's been. We can just enjoy what we're feeling in the moment, just enjoy the journey. In the wise words of Kevin Parker, "It's always around me, all this noise, but not nearly as loud as the voice saying, let it happen, let it happen (it's gonna feel so good)"

x