victoria from 5 to 7 | fashion, film, lit, more

Ok, we've all heard about Girlboss , the latest Netflix Original for us all to binge. It follows the start-up of Nasty Gal, an online fashion retailer that had its roots in vintage designer fashion, founded by Sophia Amoruso in 2007. Though everyone is talking about the events of the show, it's doing something else particularly interesting - one episode visualises internet forums and instant messaging in a refreshing, unique way that really captures the weirdness of how we engage with one another online.  Girlboss, Season 1 Episode 10: Vintage Fashion Forum Girlboss  is a loose retelling of events in the run up to establishing Nasty Gal as a brand, and follows the trials and tribulations of Sophia (Britt Robertson) through business, love, friendship and fashion. Though it misses the mark in spots, and really lacks in exciting makeover/runway sequences I've come to expect of media about women in the fashion industry, the tone is generally a nice balance of humour an...

Now released in the UK after its release in South Korea back in June 2016, Park Chan-Wook's latest offering, The Handmaiden , is a period drama that is far more dynamic, fun and ferocious than it initially appears. Simultaneously mimicking the structures of an Austen-style Victorian drama and a luxurious, erotic thriller at the same time, the film also deconstructs the differences between masculine desire and feminine sexual fulfilment. The Handmaiden is a film you need to see - in your local arthouse cinema - to continue to support genuinely good, non-Western cinema.  Kim Tae-ri (left) and Kim Min-hee (right) as handmaiden and lady, respectively, in The Handmaiden Adapted from 'Fingersmith', a novel by Sarah Waters and set in Victorian England, The Handmaiden  lifts the plot and overall structure of the text and re-situates it in 1930s Japanese-occupied Korea. Such a shift is fitting between the two periods - both characterised by distinctions of class, gender an...

Last month I bailed out on my class work and my work work in order to go an visit my pal, Kirsty , in London. Save for a 3+ hour delay at the airport (thanks Easyjet!) and a very late arrival in London, we had a fantastic time. I was there for four days, ran into my lecturer on my flight (awks), filmed an interview, and didn't visit the universities I was supposed to be visiting.  I spent my first day alone, since poor Kirsty had to go and suffer through an 8 hour day at work on only 3 hours of sleep. Setting off from Mornington Crescent (aka a tiny bottle green tiled haven of an Underground station) I headed to the Wellcome Collection, a science and technology museum. From there I headed towards Regent's Park, where, initially, there were signs prohibiting dogs which seems like a crime against humanity. 10 minutes later I saw sense in their madness - when I did  get to the areas that allowed dogs there were so. many. dogs. A much higher dog yield per square foot.  ...

Though the industry has been trending towards diversity and inclusivity of late, fashion has a bad habit of taking these steps for superficial reasons. Every time a fashion brand steps away from slim white models towards literally anyone else, media coverage erupts with excitement and creates an excellent chunk of free advertising for the company. No doubt, moving away from the rigid templates we expect from fashion (both high and high street) is always a welcome and positive change, how can fashion brands incorporate diversity into their selection of models without descending into tokenism? And how can brands incorporate activism in a way that isn't simply about making money? To briefly summarise: it's great when brands do nice things, but it sucks when they do these things for money rather than for the customer's experience or wellbeing and social change.  The great example of how to incorporate these steps towards body positivity and social change without them c...