MEET THE TEAM

Lucy-Anne headshot
Lucy-Anne
Andreea
Andreea
Rozhin
Rozhin
Maria
Maria
Georgina
Georgina
Haya
Haya
Gabriel
Gabriel
Hala
Hala
Cheyenne
Cheyenne
Matthew
Matthew
In a time without in-person contact, it is amazing to see how well this year’s run of Unfiltered has come together thanks to everyone who contributed. It is thanks to the members of our team who worked exceptionally on all their assigned roles and tasks in order to populate the magazine with content as well as our tutors Kim Blake and Julia Robson, that we were able to receive constructive feedback throughout the course in order to further build on our journalistic abilities. Also, a big thank you to James at Scheinfor designing the website and taking care of all the digital aspects!

NOW DON'T FORGET TO

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WELCOME TO UNFILTERED ONLINE

Word from the Editor

Priscilla Salinas
Priscilla

This is Unfiltered*, an all-inclusive and in-depth publication that was built up over the span of a twelve-week Fashion Publishing and Media Relations course on the BA Fashion Marketing pathway at Regent’s University London.

The magazine was created as an outlet for students to share their findings and research across a variety of topics that piqued their interests, varying between fashion, pop culture, and other world events. From covering fashion shows and upcoming trends to broader issues being faced in an era of the COVID-19 pandemic, we were encouraged to provide nuanced and well-balanced takes from a fresh point of view. Despite not being able to carry out the work behind the magazine in person due to the ongoing pandemic that has confined us to learning from behind our computers, our team was able to come together in order to provide unique and, yes, unfiltered looks into their lives through this magazine, reporting on all the different topics that have caught their attention, no matter where in the world they happened to have been.

READING TIME – 10 minutes

Is fashion on an eternal loop?

We all know we should never throw away that old pair of skinny jeans just because they are out of style. In no time, they will be back on trend again. If only the fashion cycle was as simple as it sounds.

Fashion is an industry that thrives not on the ‘new’ but the ‘next’
Alex Fury

Balenciaga Crocs
Balenciaga Crocs

Fashion always recycles. Over the course of seventy years sihouettes have changed dramatically but why do some trends from the distant past remain very much alive? It would never happen in other industries, say in cars (I might be wrong but I don’t see a lot of Model T inspiration on the streets today?)

Clothing has been on a never-ending circle of rebirth beginning with old-school styles from the Fifties and being resurrected into a more contemporary look in the late Noughties.

Is it because fashion is linked to identity? You are what you wear. You can dress in several different ways usually influenced by media, magazines, society or history. To fully appreciate fashion in its present form, one has to acknowledge and respect an interpretation of fashion that takes place within different generations. 

Wouldn’t it be fun to take an imaginary walk on the streets of history to scrutinize the values applied to some items at that moment? Starting with the reaction of the first iMac or

Hoverboard. Or the thrill of  a Gameboy. 

Having been born into a generation who only knows Netflix it would be interesting to discover how it felt to physically plan a trip to the movies to watch  a Disney classic rather than have it streamed immediately and be available infinitely on any number of streaming platforms. I can’t imagine how it felt to have unattainable films rather than being just a click away.

What makes some stuff relegated to history and museums and other items catapulted through time? It is because everything is a remix or do we love nostalgia as much as newness? In truth, fashion styles are reworked rather than copied exactly, rather like what happens in music which leads to blends of genres.

According to a fashion forum post in Glamour Magazine, the expression “Nineties clothing” spiked in web usage in early 2013. Whilst the number of listings for “Nineties fashion” on Google has recently gone through the roof. 

Anything from either decade will have to undergo scrutiny because in the early Nineties there was no mention of green fashion or sustainability.  And here lies the ability of fashion to capture what matters in a very specific moment. 

Although items might look the same, a closer inspection would reveal the new version of an old model is indeed different besides being completely new when viewed through the eyes of a newcomer. 

Dr Martens’ boots are a ‘blast from the past’ that are back in style for both men and women. Many trendy individuals now wear the androgynous boots originally created for tough workwear, with patterned, bulky socks that riff on the 1990s concept of ‘individuality’.  For those who like to wear the baggy streetwear look, Dr Martens remains the shoe of choice.

Both pieces of eternal footwear fashion seem to have two things in common: they were born out of function and have continued to dominate fashion with some improvements and technological adjustments with each new lifetime.

Remember jellies? Students sported jelly sandals around colleges in France after the end of World War II following a shortage of leather in Europe. What we now think of as plastic sandals came in a variety of vibrant colors which would have been considered spectacular in the midst of post-war gloom. Very similar footwear resurged as a huge trend in 2016 but were made from plastic not gum like the originals, that became brittle and opaque over time. were These were prototypes for the JuJu shoes like those worn by models at Alexa Chung’s SS19 runway show and to some extent Crocs, which have gone from beach-ready to Balenciaga catwalk.

More recently, Melissa, one of the most well-known brands for plastic sandals embarked recently on a big project: installing recycling collectors in every store, aiming for possible recycling, since PVC is toxic and cannot be mixed with other types of plastic. 

A new wave of plastic chokers and rings being worn by Dua Lipa and Bella Hadid were originally made from toxic hydrocarbons but now from recycled plastic bottles.  

Here lies the surprising capacity of fashion to reinvent itself and adapt to the social and cultural environment.  Of course today, sustainability is at the heart of many fashion innovations. 

Leading fashion journalist, Alex Fury, once wrote, “fashion is an industry that thrives not on the ‘new’ but the ‘next’. Over the past year during the pandemic, ‘what next’ has never felt so far away – and unpredictable.

Cynics may argue the fashion industry recycles pre-loved trends in order to ensure lightning strikes twice. And yet the real test of the resurrected fashion item lies in its ability not to make us feel nostalgic but to reflect shared values of the current time. 

If the COVID-19 mask returns in a decade, we can only wonder what will be in the minds of who ever desires to wear it.

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