Oxford's biggest student newspaper, produced by and for members of the University of Oxford, since 1991.
Image description: the Oxford Fashion Society committee standing on a set of steps I like to attend our Oxford Fashion Society committee meetings in an outfit that I feel represents me well, and today is no exception. I’m sitting here waiting to interview everyone in my favourite Selkie jumper, a cream knit skirt, and knit […]
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By now, anyone on social media has most likely seen a slurry of posts denouncing ‘fast fashion’ for its detrimental effects on the environment. ‘Fast fashion’ is cheap, mass-produced clothing that typically imitates the high-fashion trends of the season. Online stores like ASOS and SHEIN, as well as physical stores such as Primark, Zara, and […]
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Image Description: a rail of clothes in a window It’s 2021, the polar ice caps are melting and the ozone layer is getting thinner, but only now have the fashion gods considered rental wardrobes as a viable alternative to fast fashion. Responsible for up to ten per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, fashion is by far one of the most wasteful […]
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Image description: A pile of used clothing The start of the summer saw many of us crowded around family living rooms or tucked under the covers with a laptop every evening at 9pm. Only one force seems capable of forcing the British public into such a strict schedule: Love Island. With over 100,000 applications to […]
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Image Description: a side-by-side of Molly-Mae before and after Love Island. For those familiar with Love Island, Molly Mae Hague is one of their biggest success stories. Coming second with her boyfriend Tommy Fury in 2019 she has far surpassed previous contestant’s post-villa stella trajectory. Amassing over 6 million Instagram followers and lending her name […]
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Image description: a sign at a climate change protest On 2nd August 2021, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a landmark report on the planet’s current environmental state, and as ever, it was not good news. In the first report of its kind since 1990, 234 scientists collaborated to reach the same damning […]
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Image Description: Street view of Topshop’s Oxford Circus store The world of online retail has claimed yet another victim on the British high street. Unable to keep up with fast fashion and the immediate satisfaction that low-cost brands such as Boohoo and PrettyLittleThing can provide, Topshop will not be reopening its doors after the current […]
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Image description: A row of shops, with a Christmas tree in the middle. Will I shed a tear for Debenhams, the department store that has withstood total collapse for so long? The store opened first in 1778, withstanding wars, depressions, the invention of modern life, and even my working there as a Christmas Temp, despite […]
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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 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: Two of the artworks presented in the January issue of Vogue Italia Vogue Italia has shaken the fashion world to its unsustainable core with the release of its new 2020 issue. This special issue, that came to newsstands on January 7th, features “zero editorial shoots” as a reaction against the ever-growing carbon footprint […]
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Image description: Julia’s tattoo of a Tillering on her left forearm In the modern world, a culture of fast-fashion has changed our perceptions in regard to permanence and stability in design. In an interview with Julia Mervis, we look at the Philosophy behind a form of artwork that is beyond trends and consumerism — a […]
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Having converted to a meat-free lifestyle in my first year at Oxford, I felt I could live with a level of environmental smugness – I didn’t need to feel bad about my personal contributions to climate change because I hadn’t eaten beef in a year and a half. However, deep in the depths of long […]
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Fast fashion. An industry now intrinsic to the high street, earning the name through its fast process from design to mass production as much as its brief shelf-life. In a consumer culture where trends last as long as a Twitter hash-tag, how can retailers keep up the pace without social and environmental consequences? Short answer: they can’t. The challenge has moved beyond slowing […]
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