Oxford's biggest student newspaper, produced by and for members of the University of Oxford, since 1991.
ART – LITERATURE – FASHION – POPULAR CULTURE
Many of us love a good book, but should bookshops be classified as ‘essential’ establishments during a pandemic? As new lockdown restrictions are imposed across Europe, government ministers are reaching different conclusions on this controversial matter. As Oxford students (particularly if you are of the humanities persuasion), our relationship with reading is often complicated. Even […]
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With Black Friday having just passed, one of the largest shopping days in the world, we reminded again of the humanitarian and environmental dangers of fast fashion. Brands such as Pretty Little Thing have been accused of encouraging unsustainable consumption with their deals of up to 99% off – including dresses for as little as […]
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Image description: A woman holding shopping bags with a geometric edit on her face You wake up in the morning – it’s a beautiful day and you’re feeling good. You get up, brush your teeth (hopefully), check the weather forecast (unless you’re a reckless maniac), open the doors of your wardrobe, and get to it. […]
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Applications to join the Editorial team of the Oxford Student are now open. All applications consist of a written application and following this you may be called to an interview with the new Editors in Chief for Hilary Term, 2021, Robert and Issy. News Team applicants may also be required to send in an example […]
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Following the (very welcome) trend of departure away from fast-fashion consumption, the demand for pieces which have individual flair and originality has increased. Whether this be quirky second-hand items, hand-made slow fashion or reworked old clothes, the emphasis on responsible fashion consumption and the influence of lockdown has unquestionably led to an interest in personalised […]
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Image Description: Photograph of the top of Maggi Hambling’s silver-bronzed sculpture honouring Mary Wollstonecraft, which features a naked female figure rising from an amalgamation of other female forms. Anyone who has been to North London’s Newington Green (or has visited the quagmire of social media recently) will have seen Maggi Hambling’s new statue commemorating Mary Wollstonecraft. […]
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Image Description: A number of pots sculpted by Grayson Perry are exhibited in a gallery, with one in the foreground reading ‘This Artwork Will Regenerate the Local Economy’ It hardly needs to be said that the arts industry has been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Whilst many sectors, such as the hospitality industry, have been […]
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Image Description: the publicity poster for V-Card (a pink background, with ‘V-Card’ written in white and filled with peach, banana, and water drop emojis). It’s Michaelmas Term 2019, and preparations are underway for V-Card, a comedy I’ve written about sexuality and the virginity myth, which I’m hoping to put on at the Burton Taylor Studio next […]
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From literary classics to YA guilty pleasures, these reads will help you pass the long afternoons of lockdown. If you’re itching to travel: Cloud Atlas – David Mitchell Take an escapist tour of time and space with Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell’s mind-bending, genre-defying book about reincarnation. Split into six different narratives in six different times […]
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Image Description: Salehe Bembury during a photoshoot. CW: discussion of racism “What’s unfortunate is I literally designed the shoes that are in the bag, and I’m fucking being searched for them.” – Salehe Bembury The fashion industry has seen a lot of changes over the past couple of decades. The faces we see on magazines, […]
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Image Description: Clothing rail with hanging clothes illustrated under the Bridge of Sighs So it’s Third week (already?) and you’ve either exhausted the top tier outfits you collected over summer ready to show off at your suitably distanced events or you never quite thought about styling yourself and now you’re surrounded by Oxford’s finest fashion […]
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Image description: People sit on benches looking at paintings in one of the galleries at Tate Britain. As the pandemic continues, arts organisations have begun exploring new ways of generating income. Many galleries and museums are now running paid events online. The Royal Opera House is selling a David Hockney portrait, estimated to be worth […]
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Tintin and Alph-Art is the 24th and final volume of my favourite comic series growing up. Its creator, Hergé, died before its completion. Just three pages are in pencil, another 42 comprise rough sketches, and scattered throughout the volume are various notes (translated from the Belgian) alongside a number of rediscovered pages. In the last […]
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Image description: a shopfront with ‘sale’ in large lettering Recently, reports emerged showing that Boohoo’s suppliers had kept factories open during the lockdown without adequate social distancing and with workers reporting symptoms. It was also revealed that some suppliers to Boohoo were paying workers as little as £3.50, far below the legal minimum wage. This […]
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Image description: Graffiti of a girl with a heart shaped balloon, from Berlin. Banksy’s status as a street artist will always divide audiences. The crux of the matter is that, on the one hand, graffiti is vandalism and illegal; it dirties up the clean streets and makes the whole place look untidy. That is Brendan […]
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Image description: Stormzy at Glastonbury festival 2019, wearing a stab-proof vest designed by Banksy While re-watching the momentous Brit awards performance by South London Grime artist Stormzy, I was asked by a friend “I get what he’s saying, but why does he have to sound so angry?” Because he is, and because he has every […]
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Image Description: A sign saying ‘Smash the Patriarchy’ with cutouts of Janelle Monae, Dolly Parton and Doja Cat overlayed on top. As lockdown eases, and we begin to emerge into the big bad world (if only for a rendezvous with our ‘support bubble’), we will once again be met by the harsh realities of wearing […]
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As Black Lives Matter protests continue to rock the foundations of racist institutions all over the world, protestors are following in the footsteps of Civil Rights activists by once again using the music of black artists as their rallying cry. From copies of Billie Holiday’s ‘Strange Fruit’ being mailed to senators in advance of an […]
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Image Description: The National Gallery Much like watching TV, listening to a podcast or going to the theatre, gallery-going is a type of entertainment; saying so may disperse the snobby air surrounding it but it is engaging all the same. Like Connell (from BBC’s Normal People) in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, you can spend […]
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